50-minute connection in Helsinki between Schengen and non-Schengen - enough time?

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50-minute connection in Helsinki between Schengen and non-Schengen - enough time?

Yes, according to Finnair:

Minimum connecting times between flights at Helsinki Airport

Flights within Finland 35 minutes
Flights within the Schengen area 35 minutes
Flights from a Schengen area to a non-Schengen area 40 minutes
Charter flights to any other flight 75 minutes

Since The flights are booked together you can be confident you would not have been given an itinerary that was not viable.

Upvote:2

I might be blatantly plagiarising from another answer of mine to a similar question, but that one’s prerequesite is slightly different.

Helsinki airport is a rather small airport. A walk from what they call ‘terminal 1’ to ‘terminal 2’ is quicker than walking from the furthest A gate in Frankfurt to the furthest B gate, although they are both in Frankfurt’s terminal 1. And apart from it being rather small, there are other reasons why that connection is well doable:

  • Helsinki does not separate incoming from outgoing passengers so there are no complicated ways to look for when connecting when compared to arriving. You will be dumped on the same level and just need to walk across to your next gate.

  • Both your flights are sold by Finnair and thus operated by a OneWorld partner airline (likely Finnair themself). They will always arrive and depart from the part of the building labelled ‘terminal 2’ which further reduces the maximum number of gates you may have to walk along.

  • Helsinki does not separate Schengen-arriving from Schengen-departing passengers, so there is no complicated looking for flight connections. Simply locate the direction of your departure gate (spoilers: to the right; as you’re exiting Schengen) and work your way through as you would when simply departing.

The main issue which could hold you up is the Schengen exit passport control. However, you are in the possession of an EU passport (the Polish one). This allows you to use the EU citizen passport gates which have faster-moving and often shorter queues than the non-EU ones.

All the extra-Schengen flights depart from a separate corner on the far side of what Finnavia calls ‘terminal 2’, so your distance should be minimised.

Note that whether or not you have checked luggage does not enhance or decrease your likelyhood of making your connection. In fact, having carry-on may actually possibly slow you down since you need to take that with you in case you have to run. But in all honesty, the discussion is philosophical.

Side note: I would travel on the Polish passport entirely for that route. The UK cannot deny you entry on an EU passport (yet — Brexit caveat) and any passport checks involving an EU passport must be rapid. Thus, your queue should move much quicker than using a Canadian passport (on which they can deny you entry).

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