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Helsinki Airport sees higher passengers, domestic airports lower in Sep

Helsinki Airport sees higher passengers, domestic airports lower in Sep

A total of 1.7 million passengers flew through Finnish airports in September 2025, according to Statistics Finland. The number of passengers increased by one per cent compared to September 2024. The number of passengers on domestic flights decreased by four per cent, while the number of passengers on international flights increased by two per cent from the previous year. In September, a total of 1.5 million passengers flew through Helsinki Airport and altogether 196,000 passengers flew through other domestic airports. Compared to September 2024, the total number of passengers was two per cent higher at Helsinki Airport and six per cent lower at other domestic airports. Eighty-four per cent of the air traffic passengers travelled on international flights and 16 per cent on domestic flights in September 2025. The share of passengers on international flights was 91 per cent at Helsinki Airport and 30 per cent in total at other domestic airports. Of all passengers, 97 per cent travelled on scheduled flights.

Sweden, Ukraine set to boost air capabilities cooperation

Sweden, Ukraine set to boost air capabilities cooperation

Sweden and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a letter of intent (LOI) to deepen cooperation on air capabilities, the Swedish government announced, reported Xinhua. The agreement was signed in the southern Swedish city of Linkoping by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Zelensky's visit to the Saab aircraft plant. "This is an important step towards a possible export deal regarding Gripen -- likely between 100 and 150 fighter jets," Kristersson said in a statement. According to the Swedish government, the cooperation includes exchanges of relevant experience and knowledge. The Swedish Television (SVT) reported that the government is assessing possible financing mechanisms for the deal. If the export plan proceeds, initial deliveries could begin within three years, Kristersson said at a press conference.

Khartoum int'l airport resumes operation despite drone attacks

Khartoum int'l airport resumes operation despite drone attacks

Sudan on Wednesday announced the reopening of Khartoum International Airport for domestic flights, ending a suspension that lasted nearly two and a half years, despite recent drone attacks targeting the facility, reported Xinhua. "A Badr Airlines aircraft landed at Khartoum International Airport, marking the reopening of the airport and the resumption of air operations from the capital after a long hiatus," Sudan's Ministry of Culture, Information, and Tourism said in a statement. In a statement on its official Facebook page, Khartoum International Airport described the resumption of flights as "an important step in the recovery of Sudan's aviation sector, paving the way for the gradual return of air traffic in the coming period." The airport, in central Khartoum, had come under drone attacks on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the day, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Khartoum. "Our forces carried out a precise special operation in which drones successfully targeted sites and gatherings inside the perimeter of the General Command in Khartoum. The focused strike neutralized a number of officers present at the headquarters," said RSF field commander Colonel Othman Jaafar in a post on social media platform X. The facility was among the first sites attacked by the RSF when war erupted on April 15, 2023, and had sustained heavy damage during the early phases of the conflict. Authorities have since worked to rehabilitate the airport after the army regained full control of Khartoum State in May. Port Sudan International Airport, in the country's east, remains the only operational hub for international flights, while some local airports continue to operate on a limited basis. In recent weeks, the RSF has intensified drone attacks on military positions and vital infrastructure in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Sudan remains gripped by a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, plunging the country deeper into a humanitarian crisis.

Palestine denounces Israeli parliament's annexation bid for West Bank

Palestine denounces Israeli parliament's annexation bid for West Bank

The Palestinian foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned Israel's preliminary approval of a bill to extend sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, saying Israel has no authority over any part of Palestinian territory, reported Xinhua. In a statement, the ministry said the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip form an "integral geographical unit of the State of Palestine" under the sovereignty of the Palestinian people and their leadership, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization. It warned that Israel's "attempts to impose new realities on the ground" were "null and void," vowing to challenge them through political, diplomatic, and legal means. The ministry also urged countries and international bodies to reject Israel's "systematic policies of land seizure and annexation." Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's parliament voted 25-24 in favor of a bill to apply Israeli law and administration to all settlements in the West Bank, referred to by Israel as Judea and Samaria. The bill, introduced by right-wing lawmaker Avi Maoz of the one-man Noam Party, now heads to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further debate. Israel's Channel 12 reported that some members of the ruling coalition supported the opposition-sponsored bill despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to abstain, underscoring divisions within the government over annexation policy.

US sanctions Russia's top 2 oil producers to press for ceasefire in Ukraine

US sanctions Russia's top 2 oil producers to press for ceasefire in Ukraine

U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, in a bid to pressure Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, reported Xinhua. "Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was cited in a statement as saying. Bessent said U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is prepared to take further action if necessary, while urging U.S. allies to join in and adhere to U.S. sanctions on Russia. State-controlled Rosneft and privately held Lukoil are the two largest Russian oil producers, jointly accounting for nearly half of Russia's total crude-oil exports, or around 2.2 million barrels a day in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg estimates. "I just felt it was time," Trump said at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, adding that he hoped "they won't be on for long" since he hoped the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be settled. The move came one day after a planned Trump-Putin meeting in Hungary was put on hold. "It didn't feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it," Trump said of the meeting. The United States and its allies have imposed multiple rounds of financial and trade sanctions on Russia since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit

U.S. private space company SpaceX launched 28 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit on Wednesday, reported Xinhua. The satellites lifted off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:16 a.m. Pacific Time (1416 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the U.S. state of California, according to SpaceX. Following stage separation, the rocket's first-stage booster landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship, positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Starlink is a satellite internet service provided by SpaceX that offers broadband internet to users worldwide through a network of thousands of small satellites in low-Earth orbit.