Helsinki Airport in Finland is one of the first airports in Europe to now enable Alipay. According to a press release, Finavia, which operates the Helsinki Airport, said the move to support Alipay is in response to a rapid increase in the number of Chinese passengers at the Helsinki Airport. By enabling AliPay, Finavia said it will improve the service experience at the airport for Chinese travelers.
“Chinese passengers are the most rapidly growing customer group at Helsinki Airport and the group that uses the most money. We work hard to offer them the best possible service experience. Familiar and easy payment options increase the feeling of smooth and safe travel for Chinese passengers,” said Finavia’s Elena Stenholm, director of commercial services at Helsinki Airport, in the press release.
According to Finavia, the only other airports that accept Alipay are in Munich and Frankfurt. In Helsinki Airport, seven commercial services points have adopted Alipay with a lot more interested. China’s UnionPay is already available at most of the outlets within the airport, the company said.
Alipay can now be used to pay at the airport’s Iittala, M-Box, Finspiration, Lindroos and Moomin shop outlets. Finavia’s intent is to have all airports’ commercial operators accepting AliPay.
“We work in close cooperation with our commercial partners to develop the customer experience. Alipay has been received very well, and we encourage businesses to enable it. If the biggest commercial operators at the airport come along, the amount of outlets accepting Alipay will increase tenfold at once,” Stenholm says.
Finavia noted Helsinki Airport has seen a sharp increase in the number of Chinese passengers over the past few years with that growth to continue for both transfer connections and overnight stays in Finland. In Finland, Lapland is a particular attraction for Chinese tourists.
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