7 July 2004: Airship "Yokoso! Japan" to Malmi Airport on Sunday 18 July around 3 pm

This is an opportunity to see a Zeppelin airship in Helsinki! The last such visit took place more than 70 years ago.

7 July 2004

Click here for news about the actual visit.

This news item has been updated on Sunday 18 July 2004 at 2:05 pm.

The airship "Yokoso! Japan" has passed Turku on its way from Stockholm to Helsinki on Sunday 18 July. "Yokoso! Japan" (Welcome to Japan) will arrive to the capital region around 3 pm, and will land at Helsinki-Malmi Airport. The almost real-time location of the airship can be seen here.

From Helsinki, "Yokoso! Japan" will continue to St. Petersburg, and from there over Siberia to Japan. Routine maintenance work will be done on the engines of the airship at Finnair's aircraft hangar at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

The semi-rigid airship "Yokoso! Japan" has been built by the trailblazer of rigid-bodied airships, Zeppelin GmbH. Its length is 75 meters - bigger than a Boeing 747 "Jumbo Jet" - and its gondola has room for 12 passengers.

The previous visit of a Zeppelin airship to Helsinki took place on 24 September 1930, when the enormous 236-meter-long "Graf Zeppelin" flew over the capital in order to make an intermediate landing on the fields at Viikki. That time, the weather conditions prevented the landing.

More information:
Almost real-time location of the airship
http://www.hotelbravo.ch/ja101z/
http://www.zeppelin.de/E/konzern/06zepplin.html
http://www.kaupunginosat.net/kumpula/kol2.htm (in Finnish only)