NFH

We will be flying TLL-HEL-LHR on the same booking with hand baggage only. When we connect via HEL, will we need to go through security again? If so, I believe we won't be able to buy alcohol airside at TLL, which is no doubt cheaper than at HEL.

The stopover at HEL will be 90 minutes - 18:00 to 19:30. Which Priority Pass lounge is recommended for the best food? The choice is:

• Almost@Home
• Aspire Lounge
• Fly Inn Restaurant

Days earlier, we will be flying LHR-HEL-TLL with a 45-minute connection time, but with no intention to buy liquids, and unless the LHR-HEL flight arrives substantially early we don't intend to use a lounge at HEL, not least as the only lounge open at 23:00 is Almost@Home, which is non-Schengen and therefore not ideal when our next flight is to TLL.

ffay005

No security theatre at HEL for intra-EU transfers, either way.

remymartin

You don't specify when you're flying. None of the three lounges you mention will offer anything meaningful to eat, unless you consider salad, soup and bread food. Plaza Premium (also accessible with Priority Pass) will, according to the updated website, now open "late April". This might be your best bet.

It's unclear to me if Fly Inn serve any food in the evening. The PP website writes " 06:00 - 21:00 daily (restaurant opening times) 06:00 - 10:00 daily (set breakfast menu) 10:00 - 14:00 daily (set lunch menu) "

lkrt

NFH

Thanks. That's very promising, given our positive experience at other Plaza Premium lounges, in particular at GIG, and that we are travelling in May after it is scheduled to open.

on22cz

Even if you were to clear security at HEL again, you could buy alcohol airside at TLL. You would just tell them HEL is not your final destination and they would put all your bottles into a sealed bag, as is the standard procedure everywhere.
Of course, if you would want to start a party already on TLL-HEL flight, you would not only break the sealed bag and eliminate your security passing with the bottles (had there been any security to go through), but IIRC, you would also break some law and might be forced to stay at HEL longer than intended. This can be a good reminder for other occasions.

NFH

This is the standard procedure only when allowed by the airport being transited. For example, I would be surprised if LHR would allow a sealed duty-free bag of >100ml liquids through flight connections security, particularly as arriving passengers co-mingle from all originating airports including many that do not even screen for liquids.

on22cz

@NFH It didn't take much effort to check from LHR website:

"Duty free liquids, aerosols and gels purchased from any airport or airline may now be carried as hand baggage. However, these must be sealed at the time of purchase with the receipt inside a security tamper-evident bag. Following the initial x-ray scan, security officers may also need to carry out additional checks."

Aviating

Duty free in a sealed bag is ok through flight connections at LHR.

NFH

Thanks. I had visited the same page before posting my comment, but that I missed that comment, as I was looking in the Shopping section, which I believed would mention it if it applied.

seldomrfly

What kind of duty free are you allowed to buy ex-TLL?
I was denied shopping ex-EU duty free in RIX when I was going to OSL. They told me the transit in HEL disqualified me from shopping non-EU stuff. It must be a non-stop flight out from EU to be allowed to shop the cheaper stuff.

NFH

As we will be flying entirely within the EU customs union and EU VAT area, it won't be duty-free, but duty-paid in Estonia. Nevertheless the airside duty-paid price at TLL will be much lower than the duty-paid price in the UK.

seldomrfly

Of course 😂 I kinda forgot there was never any BREXIT

ffay005

seldomrfly

2-3 hours.
I showed up at the cashier with a handful of items from the non-EU destinations shelf. She asked me where I'm going, I replied OSL. Can I see your boarding card she replied. My boarding card says HEL, and with e swipe I also showed the HEL-OSL leg. She replies, I can't sell you this since you are going to HEL. I replied, yeah but OSL is my destination. She didn't seem to care where I was going. Only the first boarding card was important. Didn't care about it, it was mostly impulse shopping anyway. Left my stuff at the cashier desk and left.