Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 61

the fact that the passengers are only passing through (the faster the better). Instead of
building up airport services, why not utilise
the existing service offering?
“At Tampere, it would make sense to
use the Tampere railway station as a hub for
all modes of transport. Airline passengers
could spend some time in the Tampere city
centre prior to the flight, instead of wandering around at the airport,” Virkkunen says.
The concrete visualisation of the concept – which features e.g. low-cost gates and
runways – has been conducted by architect
agency Lunden. All and all, the AiRRport
gurus have been working on the concept
since 2012.

True Intermodality
In the logistical circles, ‘intermodality’ has
been one of the buzz words for years now
– but Virkkunen insists that nothing really
concrete has been done about it.
“Now what we need to do is forget
the traditional view of air terminal and find
a way to do it more effectively, in a manner
that puts the customer first. The promise of
AiRRport concept is ‘Travel Made Easy’ –
and we are convinced that we can deliver on
that promise.” For the Tampere Airport, this
could mean that the present annual passenger volume of 500,000 people will explode
to five million within a period of, say, 10–15
years.
The AiRRport planners have a wealth
of research to back up their master plan.
The International Air Traffic Association
(IATA), for example, believes that queues
won’t be around for long at airports. Hi-tech
is expected to hit traditional safety checks
in force in the coming years and tools such
as ‘Trusted Traveller’ systems will be more
widely deployed.
“Everything is geared towards automating the flow of people at airports anyway. What we’re looking to do is to optimise it,” Virkkunen says.

Low Cost Gates.

Customers’ Rebellion
Jouni Lehtomaa comments that airport will
simply have to change, since the passengers
– the customers – won’t tolerate the present
situation for much longer.
“The price of airfare has already come
down thanks to budget airlines, but the airports have not changed with the times.”
Harri Ojala from the Tampere Chamber of Commerce adds that the Tampere
Region now possesses a great chance to take
the local economy to the next level.
“According to our studies, the most
important issue on the local companies’
wishlist is a fully functional, international
airport,” Ojala says, adding that the
AiRRport concept could give the local
business climate a serious boost. “The
AiRRport concept could launch a positive
cycle where a number of good things come
to exist.”
Managing Director Päivi Myllykangas
from Tampere Region Development Agency
is thinking along the same lines and adds:

“Tampere is the second largest growth
center and the most attractive city to live in
Finland. Furthermore, foreign-owned companies appreciate the availability of skilled
workers our university city has to offer. Half
of the companies say that skilled workforce
is the reason why they located in Tampere;
two-thirds stay because of them.”

The Missing Link
Toni Virkkunen is fond of talking about the
“physical Internet” in this context – meaning
that as data travels the worldwide web, so
do people and goods travel in a global network of their own. The physical Internet is
formed by roads, railway tracks and vapour
trails up in the sky, but something is missing from the equation.
“To make this work, we need a better
interface between air travel and road and
rail traffic,” he says, adding that this link is
rather tiny one – considering the vastness of
the entire logistics system – but without it,
nothing will change.

One Vision

T

he AiRRport vision goes hand in hand
with Tampere Region Master Plan
2040, which predicts intense growth for
the region that is already the most attractive
area in the eyes of citizens and companies
alike. By 2040, there will be 480,000 people in the Region – and 70,000 new jobs.
Improved connectivity is a ‘must’ in this scenario, says Tampere Region Director Päivi
Nurminen.
“The AiRRport concept is a key part of

our drive to make the most of the emerging
opportunities,” she says, adding that international focus is something that the Tampere
Region wants – and the new concept delivers that very well, indeed.
“Under the concept, both new and old
companies are able to tap into the global
flow of traffic more effectively. The overall impact goes well beyond regional considerations,” she says.
The local municipalities – numbering

eight in total – stand united in developing
the Tampere Region which has made it easier to get things done. Nurminen doesn’t hesitate to call it “the best regional collaboration” in the whole country.
“We have been able to pursue growth
and seek answers to, for instance, traffic
challenges without being hindered by
municipality borders,” Nurminen says.

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