Will direct flights from Brussels turn Nordic skiing into a serious Alpine rival?
Brussels Airlines has added three scheduled Arctic routes for winter 2026-27, offering up to six weekly departures from Brussels Airport to northern Finland and Norway as the carrier seeks more leisure traffic outside the summer peak.
In 30 seconds
- Kittilä is scheduled three times weekly from 10 December 2026 to 27 March 2027.
- Kemi receives up to two weekly flights from 25 December 2026 to 10 March 2027; Evenes receives one weekly flight in February and March.
- Brussels Airport handled 24.4 million passengers in 2025, up 3.3% from 23.6 million in 2024.
- Brussels Airlines carried 9.1 million passengers in 2025, but adjusted EBIT fell 52% year on year to €28 million.
Key fact
24.4 million Brussels Airport handled passengers in 2025, up 3.3% from 23.6 million in 2024.
has put up to six weekly scheduled flights to the Nordic north into its winter 2026-27 timetable, adding Kittilä and Kemi in Finland and Evenes in Norway to its network from . Announced on 17 August, the programme gives independent travellers direct access to Arctic winter regions that the airline previously served mainly through charter partnerships with tour operators. Tickets are now on sale, although the carrier has not disclosed booking numbers, introductory fare comparisons or route-level profitability targets.
Kittilä receives the largest commitment: three flights a week from 10 December to 27 March. The airport serves Finnish Lapland and the ski areas around Levi and Ylläs. Kemi will receive up to two weekly services between 25 December and 10 March, while Evenes, serving the Harstad-Narvik area in northern Norway, will be flown once a week during February and March. Brussels Airlines says Airbus A320-family aircraft will operate the routes; its booking information puts the flight to Kittilä at roughly three hours and 20 minutes.
That does not mean Belgian skiers are about to abandon the Alps en masse. Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland retain larger ski domains, greater vertical drops, extensive accommodation markets and habits built over generations. Brussels Airport’s own 2025 traffic figures show Switzerland among its ten largest country markets, whereas no Nordic country made that list. Price will also matter: families need to compare the full cost of flights, baggage, transfers, lift passes, equipment and accommodation, not simply the airfare displayed first on a booking page.
The Nordic offer is nevertheless becoming commercially credible. TUI fly began a weekly service to Scandinavian Mountains Airport near Sälen in Sweden in December 2025, placing the Sälen and Trysil resorts within about an hour’s onward journey. That route was one of six passenger destinations added at Brussels Airport during 2025. Brussels Airlines is now widening the map beyond a single resort gateway, while keeping charter flights operated with travel agencies alongside the new scheduled services.
For the airline, the logic is as much about aircraft utilisation as changing holiday tastes. European aviation is strongly seasonal, with demand peaking in summer. A winter leisure network can keep aircraft and crews productive when beach traffic subsides. Brussels Airlines has already pursued the warmer version of this strategy by adding winter capacity to the Canary Islands and Madeira. The Arctic routes diversify that bet: some customers want guaranteed sun, while others will pay for snow, northern lights and a broader Lapland experience.
The experiment comes at a financially sensitive moment. Brussels Airlines, a carrier employing more than 3,500 people, carried 9.1 million passengers on over 68,000 flights in 2025, 11% more flights than a year earlier. Revenue rose 7% to more than €1.6 billion, but adjusted operating profit fell 52% to €28 million and the margin declined to 1.7%, according to the company. Seven national trade-union action days, including protests backed by Belgian unions over federal reforms, cost the airline an estimated €15 million. Thin seasonal routes therefore need to attract enough passengers at workable fares, not merely generate an appealing destination map.
Brussels Airport has its own reason to welcome the expansion. It handled 24.4 million passengers in 2025, 3.3% more than in 2024, with leisure travel and visits to friends and relatives driving the strongest growth. The airport said seven national action days suppressed the annual total by about 275,000 passengers. More winter destinations can help balance demand across the year and support airport retailers, ground handlers and tourism intermediaries, although the number of jobs or additional passengers attributable to these three routes has not been published.
For households, the practical gain is competition and choice rather than an assured bargain. Scheduled flights allow travellers to assemble their own holiday instead of buying a fixed charter package, potentially combining accommodation, transfers and activities to suit their budget. The reverse is also true: packages can offer protection and bundled prices that an independently booked trip lacks. Ski equipment rules, airport transfers and the cost of food and lodging in Norway or Finland can materially change the final bill.
Climate pressure supplies the broader backdrop, but it should not be mistaken for a guarantee that northern resorts are immune. A 2023 study in Nature Climate Change found that, without snowmaking, 53% of 2,234 European ski resorts studied would face a very high risk of insufficient snow at 2°C of global warming, rising to 98% at 4°C. The European Environment Agency likewise reports decreasing snowfall across Europe, especially at lower elevations. Northern destinations may enjoy a relative advantage over vulnerable low-altitude Alpine resorts, yet Nordic ski areas also face warming, variable local conditions and their own dependence on artificial snow.
Where this is happening
View on map Brussels Airport →Flying farther north also complicates any claim that this is a climate-friendly substitute. The same research notes that snowmaking is only one part of skiing’s footprint; passenger transport remains important. A more snow-reliable destination can reduce the risk of a disappointing holiday, but a direct flight does not by itself make that holiday sustainable.
The decisive evidence will arrive after the first full season. Load factors, fares, repeat bookings and whether Brussels Airlines restores or increases the routes for winter 2027-28 will show whether this is a durable market or a carefully limited seasonal trial. For now, the Alps remain the benchmark. What has changed is that Brussels Airport offers Belgian travellers a practical northern alternative—and gives airlines another way to earn revenue through the quieter winter months.
What to do
Travellers can compare direct Nordic options with Alpine holidays for winter 2026-27. Kittilä service runs three times weekly from 10 December 2026 to 27 March 2027; Kemi receives up to two weekly flights from 25 December 2026 to 10 March 2027; and Evenes has one weekly flight during February and March. Before booking, compare the complete trip price rather than airfare alone: checked ski equipment, airport transfers, accommodation, lift passes and local spending can change which destination is cheaper. Scheduled service also lets travellers book components independently instead of buying a tour-operator package.
Impact
Regional — The immediate economic effects centre on Brussels Airport in Zaventem and its ecosystem of ground handlers, retailers, travel agencies and transport providers. The companies have not quantified the additional Belgian passenger volume or employment attached to the routes.
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Voices & reactions
What the main actors are doing
Reported positions, summarised — not direct quotationsBrussels Airlines and Nordic tourism operators
The airline sees growing demand for Arctic winter holidays and argues that scheduled flights give travellers more choice than charter-only programmes. Nordic resorts can sell snow activities, northern lights and wilderness alongside skiing, helping airlines generate leisure demand outside the summer peak.
Alpine resorts and established ski travellers
The Alps retain decisive advantages in scale, vertical terrain, road accessibility, accommodation depth and familiarity. A handful of seasonal flights from Brussels does not demonstrate a mass migration, while Scandinavian lodging, food and transfers may offset any attractive airfare.
Climate researchers and low-carbon travel advocates
Northern resorts may be relatively more snow-reliable than low-altitude Alpine competitors, but they are not insulated from warming. Flying farther for snow also creates transport emissions, so greater reliability should not be confused with a lower-carbon holiday.
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.