Finnair, the Official Airline of Santa Claus, landed at Manchester Airport yesterday with a very jolly customer on board, as it officially starts the countdown to Christmas. The most famous Finn, Santa Claus, flew with Finnair from Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi to Manchester, via Finnair’s home hub in Helsinki. His stopover in Manchester will be the only European leg of his international tour, spreading Christmas joy around the world.
Touching down in Manchester for a pre-Christmas festive visit, Santa Claus was spotted disembarking the Nordic carrier’s A320, before jingling through Terminal 2, a new location for Finnair and collecting his Christmas presents from baggage reclaim.
Santa was seen handing out the presents throughout the terminal and spreading festive cheer to departing passengers at Manchester Airport.
Last year, Finnair celebrated 30 years of flying from Manchester to Helsinki and brought its most important customer over to explore all the city has to offer, ahead of his all-important visit next month.
This marks the start of Finnair’s winter schedule from the UK, which includes double daily flights from Manchester to Helsinki, alongside flights from London, Edinburgh and Dublin, connecting on to the airline’s impressive schedule to Finnish Lapland.
This winter, Finnair will offer up to 70 flights a week between Helsinki and Rovaniemi - The Official Hometown of Santa Claus, with flights departing as often as every 30 minutes during peak periods, giving the airline a unique shuttle service to the Arctic Circle .
Services to Rovaniemi will support Finnair’s existing network of 15 destinations in Finland, including Lapland’s other most popular gateways - Ivalo, Kittilä and Kuusamo.
Anssi Partanen, Finnair Market Director Europe, said: “We are incredibly excited about bringing the real Finnish Santa Claus to the amazing city of Manchester, ahead of his annual visit next month.
“As the only European leg of the international tour, Manchester is a very important destination for us as the gateway for customers from the North to explore Finland and connect on to our exciting global network.”
Stephen Turner, Manchester Airport’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are proud to connect the North with the world, and at this time of year that often means giving families from across the region the chance to fly to Lapland to visit Santa - but for him to be making the journey in the opposite direction is a rare Christmas treat.
"We're excited to continue to connect even more customers between Manchester and Helsinki and beyond with our partners at Finnair over the festive period, and we're thrilled to see Santa paying a visit to Finnair’s new location in our state-of-the-art Terminal 2.”
Those looking to take a trip to Lapland to meet Santa and his helpers, can enjoy year-round flights to a range of airports in the heart of Lapland, including Rovaniemi - The Official Hometown of Santa Claus.
Those looking for an Arctic adventure in Lapland can enjoy return fares from Manchester starting at £197 in Economy, including all taxes and charges.
Today, the airline continues to support Santa in his work to spread Christmas cheer through its charity partner, The Santa Claus Foundation. Established in 2000, Claus’ foundation is dedicated to improving children’s well-being around the world.
Finnair has been the Official Airline of Santa Claus since 1983 and each Christmas, the Finnish airline proudly flies Santa Claus from his home in the Arctic Circle to destinations around the world, giving those around the world a chance to feel the magic of Christmas at home.
