Finnair Plus - Connection in Helsinki

Hello! I would like to ask if a 40 minutes connection in HEL flying from MAD to RIX (Riga) seems possible? This option has the best airfair but i'm afraid about the short stopover. Both flights operated by finnair. Thank you

Welcome to FT Mari1982!

Minimum connection time on Schengen to Schengen flights is 35 min at HEL so you will be fine. Also connecting at HEL is fast and easy.

I've never transferred through HEL (it was my destination in my case) but generally the airport is efficient and I don't see any reason why connections would be a problem. Not a lot of traffic in my experience.

There are only about 40 gates in the airport, everything is within easy walking distance, and since you are going Schengen to Schengen, there will be no passport control. You simply walk a few gates to the next flight. As long as your arriving flight is on time, no problem.

Note: in May I flew from USA to KBP via HEL. Since both flights were non-Schengen, I remained in the international/non-Schengen area of the terminal and did not have any security or passport checks. However, the AY HEL-KBP flight was an Embraer 170 RJ, too low for the jet bridges in that section of the terminal, which are built for large aircraft. As a result, we were bussed from a ground-floor gate (37b) to the aircraft, and the bus departed for the plane about 20 minutes before departure time. I don't know what would have happened to a connecting passenger who arrived at the gate after the bus had left. I recall that the gate agent remained at the gate after our bus departed, so perhaps that person would have remained at the gate until 5-10 minutes to assist any late-arriving passengers with a second bus. Do you know if your second flight is a full size jet or a regional jet?

I was considering a Schengen to non-Schengen connection of 45 minutes (otherwise it is a 5hr layover), but decided against it, mainly because if I miss the connection I'm stuck in Helsinki for a night. When deciding, consider your alternatives if you should miss your flight and also if the airline will protect you if this happens.

I was in HEL a few weeks ago and it took about 15 minutes to get through the Schengen to non-Schengen passport control. Not horrible, but with a 45 minute connection if the slightest thing goes wrong, you're not going to make it.

I remember i had 45min connection once from non-Schengen to domestic and it was late about 10minutes and we were bussed to the terminal and still i had plenty of time.

Slightly OT: Reserve much more time if you connect to *A flight, don´t have your luggage checked through and don´t have a boarding pass. The *A trasfer desk airside can be unmanned (it is unmanned before 8:00 AM - a very aggravating feature) and the TI check in area is a total mess most of the time, especially if it is holiday season. In case you (are desperate and) have to use a *A carrier from HEL, do check in online, PYOBP, and have carry on luggage only. Then you might not miss your flight.

Slightly OT: Reserve much more time if you connect to *A flight, don´t have your luggage checked through and don´t have a boarding pass. The *A trasfer desk airside can be unmanned (it is unmanned before 8:00 AM - a very aggravating feature) and the TI check in area is a total mess most of the time, especially if it is holiday season. In case you (are desperate and) have to use a *A carrier from HEL, do check in online, PYOBP, and have carry on luggage only. Then you might not miss your flight.

Exactly. HEL T1 is horrible. Security queus on rush time are long. It is sad that Finnish press don't bash *A and T1 sitution but only AY. And combination of T2 and AY works way better.

The T's are connected airside so it's always a good idea to consider the other security checks if the queues look too long and are not moving. (In MIA, it's a lifesaver!)

I don't use T1 much but last month did in the morning, the security queue was almost to the escalators but it still cleared in less than 5 minutes. Even managed to forgot to take the liquids bag out :)

I regularly connect at HEL, schengen to non-schengen with short connection time. I have never missed a plane and never lost baggage.

Here is a clip of me walking G20-G38 in 5 minutes. (Sorry about the quality..)
http://bambuser.com/channel/arahlen/broadcast/1581409
It is a friday evening, so very few people at the airport, but you see the distance you need to walk. The bottleneck is passport screening when leaving schengen area, especially for non-EU-citizens. If you are a EU-citizen and have a "digital" passport you can use the automated screening, with no queues at all.

would 40 minutes be enough if I have a connecting flight from LHR-HEL to HEL-HKG?

would 40 minutes be enough if I have a connecting flight from LHR-HEL to HEL-HKG?1
plenty of time, enough for a walk round too!
Flights from uk are usually early if they leave on time, and you have no security to clear, other than at the gate. have never trusted baggage though