Finavia, the operator of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, executed its largest safety exercise in a decade on 26 May 2026. Code-named ‘SAR2026’, the simulation involved a mock wide-body aircraft accident on the north runway, activating more than 500 personnel from 14 agencies—including Finnair, regional carrier Norra, Norwegian, Fintraffic air-navigation services, Customs, the Border Guard and the Safety Investigation Authority. The scenario tested command-and-control hand-offs between air-traffic controllers, airline operations control centres and ground rescue teams. Particular attention was paid to passenger-manifest reconciliation, triage coordination with HUS hospital district, and expedited immigration clearance for foreign ‘victims’ requiring onward medical evacuation. Customs and Border Guard officers practised rapid deployment of mobile passport-control kiosks to manage diverted flights. Finavia said the drill validated recent investments in digital incident-management platforms and multilingual passenger-notification templates—a benefit for the airport’s growing number of transfer travellers from Asia and North America.
![Helsinki-Vantaa runs ‘SAR2026’ full-scale crash drill to test multi-agency response]()
For those travellers, making sure the right entry documents are in place can be just as important as operational readiness. VisaHQ’s online service (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) streamlines Finnish visa checks and applications for both individuals and corporate travel managers, reducing the risk of last-minute document complications that could compound any disruption caused by exercises like SAR2026.
Lessons learned will feed into an updated Airport Emergency Plan to be filed with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by October 2026. Corporate travel departments should be aware that similar large-scale rehearsals may be scheduled with little public notice, potentially causing gate changes or minor delays. Finavia recommends that airlines and employers ensure that Advance Passenger Information (API) feeds are accurate, as manifest quality was one of the critical success factors identified.
For those travellers, making sure the right entry documents are in place can be just as important as operational readiness. VisaHQ’s online service (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) streamlines Finnish visa checks and applications for both individuals and corporate travel managers, reducing the risk of last-minute document complications that could compound any disruption caused by exercises like SAR2026.
Lessons learned will feed into an updated Airport Emergency Plan to be filed with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by October 2026. Corporate travel departments should be aware that similar large-scale rehearsals may be scheduled with little public notice, potentially causing gate changes or minor delays. Finavia recommends that airlines and employers ensure that Advance Passenger Information (API) feeds are accurate, as manifest quality was one of the critical success factors identified.
