OREANDA-NEWS. Miami International Airport welcomed international carrier Finnair yesterday, marking the start of scheduled seasonal service between Miami and Finland's capital city of Helsinki. The new service represents MIA's 16th destination in Europe and the southeastern U.S.'s only non-stop connection to the Nordic country. Finnair's inaugural Miami flight was welcomed by a customary water cannon salute.

Finnair will initially operate two weekly nonstop flights utilizing Airbus A340-300 aircraft arranged in a two-class Business and Economy configuration.

Beginning on January 3, the Miami-Helsinki service will increase to three weekly flights through March 21 when the seasonal service concludes. Finnair is Finland's flagship carrier and a member of the oneworld alliance, which includes MIA hub carrier American Airlines, as well as MIA airline partners airberlin, British Airways, Iberia, LAN, Qatar Airways and TAM.

"We're thrilled to welcome Finnair and its customers to Miami International Airport and to connect these two phenomenal destinations," said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez. "Expanding our route network into new European markets like Helsinki fits well with our ongoing efforts to transform MIA into a truly global gateway."

In 2014, MIA has added direct service to the European destinations of Brussels, Belgium; Munich, Germany; and Helsinki. New direct service to Manchester, England is slated for 2015. In total, Miami International Airport added five new international passenger carriers for the twelve month period.