Norway will call in extra air-traffic controllers for the Christmas rush as hundreds of thousands of tourists, primarily from Britain, take to the skies to visit Santa in Finland’s far north, Norwegian officials said on Thursday.
Each year during the holiday season, dozens of special daily flights link the European continent to the Arctic village of Rovaniemi, the official home of Father Christmas, creating headaches for air controllers in the countries the planes fly over, such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
“On the Saturdays of December 10 and 17 alone, we have registered 64 extra flights between Britain and Finland,” spokesperson Ove Narvesen of the Norwegian civil aviation agency said.
About 400 000 tourists visit Rovaniemi each year, 90% of whom hail from Britain.
“We’re expecting delays in southern Norway. But we are nonetheless well-prepared and the delays should be minimal,” Narvesen said.
For the Christmas rush, two extra air-traffic controllers will be put on each shift, Avinor said, adding that it expects the heavy traffic flows to last until the end of February. — AFP