Finland considers reducing state airport ownership, inviting stock market float and/or privatisation

The five Nordic countries tend to regard airports as state property. There are few examples of wholly or partly privatised airports in any of them, and none at all in three of them.

Two years ago CAPA - Centre for Aviation reported that Sweden was examining the benefits of partially privatising some of its larger airports, including Stockholm Arlanda, but nothing seems to have come of that so far.

Now it is the turn of Finland, where the government has agreed in principle to reduce its share holding in Finavia, the operator there, among several other state entities.

The government indicates that it has a clear mandate on state ownership and will not let its holding fall below that level. On the other hand, it could go down to 50.01%, offering plenty of opportunity for investors even if there is a complementary float on the Stock Exchange - as it appears there would be.

Those investors would appreciate solid passenger growth across the portfolio before the pandemic, but would not be so happy about continuing losses occasioned mainly by restrictions on airspace in neighbouring Russia,

That portfolio is a mixed one too, with most of the traffic centred on Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and very low numbers at some of the remoter facilities.

Mexico and Brazil learned how to deal with that impediment by selecting anchor airports in the concession process to which others were attached, but Finland is a micro market by comparison. Only one airport - Helsinki Vantaa - could be considered an 'anchor'.

Just how this will play out is yet to be revealed.

It could be that it turns out to be another good intention that is never realised.

Or Finland could be the first Nordic country to concession out its airports, with the private sector having a sizeable holding.