EU rules may raise Lapland flight prices, researcher warns

Airfares to Lapland could rise by tens of per cent or more as European Union climate rules increase airlines’ costs, researcher Juho Kähkönen told Yle. The price increases could eventually make tourism in the region more accessible mainly to wealthy and middle-class travellers.

Kähkönen studied the impact of EU climate legislation on air travel and tourism in Lapland for his doctoral thesis. He defended his thesis at the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Law in early September.

One factor driving up prices is the gradual phase-out of free emissions allowances for aviation between 2024 and the end of 2026. Airlines will have to buy the allowances, and Kähkönen said the higher costs would eventually be passed on to consumers.

Air travel will also be affected by the European emissions trading system and rules requiring airlines to use more sustainable aviation fuels. The share of these more expensive fuels is set to rise from the current 2 per cent to 70 per cent by 2050.

Lapland relies heavily on air travel. Finavia statistics show that 1.1 million people flew to Rovaniemi last year.

Train travel is already significant, with almost 700,000 people travelling to Rovaniemi by rail each year, according to Sanna Kärkkäinen, chief executive of Visit Rovaniemi. The figure also includes students and local residents.

However, replacing flights with trains or cars would not be straightforward, Kähkönen said. A journey from the British Isles to Lapland through the Channel and overland would be particularly long.

Kärkkäinen expects overland travel to grow as rail services develop and interest in slower travel increases. But Kähkönen said shorter winters and snow turning into slush posed a greater threat to Lapland’s tourism industry than climate regulations and rising airfares.

He said tourism businesses should invest in services that do not depend on snow.