Departure
95%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Oulu Airport (EFOU) lies at Oulunsalo, some 6 nautical miles south-west of Oulu city centre in North Ostrobothnia, Finland, and is the country's third busiest airport by passenger numbers. It offers a single long instrument runway with a Category II ILS, making it a useful and well-equipped destination for simulator pilots flying in northern Finland, and it also sees regular use by the Finnish Air Force for training.
Oulu Airport serves the city of Oulu and the surrounding Oulunsalo area in North Ostrobothnia, Finland. Operated by Finavia, it is the third busiest airport in the country after Helsinki-Vantaa and Rovaniemi, handling scheduled and charter traffic as well as extensive Finnish Air Force training flights. For the simulator pilot it offers a substantial single runway with precision approach aids, making it a realistic and rewarding northern European destination.
The airport sits at Oulunsalo, about 5.7 nautical miles (10.6 km) south-west of Oulu city centre, on the Gulf of Bothnia coast in North Ostrobothnia, Finland.
Oulu has one physical runway, 12/30, a hard-surfaced strip 8,148 feet in length that is lit for night operations. Runway 12 is equipped with an instrument landing system, giving precision approach guidance to arriving traffic from that direction.
ATIS broadcasts on 135.45 MHz, and the tower can be contacted on 124.4 MHz. Runway 12 carries an ILS approach, providing lateral and vertical guidance for instrument arrivals.
The present airport was built at Oulunsalo after the earlier Oritkari airfield became unsuitable for modern aircraft; construction began in 1949 and the field opened in 1953, initially with gravel runways. The terminal and air traffic control building followed in 1958, at which point the main runway was paved with asphalt. Aero (the forerunner of Finnair) flew DC-3 services from Oulu, and jet services began in 1964 with Sud Aviation Caravelles. The terminal was rebuilt in 1973 and subsequently expanded in 2002 and again in September 2011, when four new jet-bridge gates were added; the old 1973 terminal was demolished in 2005 to create more apron space. The airport's second runway was removed in the early 2000s, leaving the single 12/30 strip in use today, and the current control tower dates from 1998. In September 1978 Finnair Flight 405 was hijacked shortly after departing Oulu, an incident later dramatised in a Finnish film.
Oulu Airport remains part of the Finavia network and is the third busiest airport in Finland by passenger traffic, with around ten daily flights to Helsinki alongside seasonal charter and other international services. The field is also used extensively by the Finnish Air Force for training, reflecting its long runway and instrument approach capability.
