Mornings are no longer dim. I find myself smiling as I walk towards the Helsinki Airport's terminal. This year, the light of spring arrived early, and there is something in the air that feels awakening, something that brings to mind new beginnings. The familiar hum of the airport and the crowd around me reminds me how dynamic and ever‑changing our working environment at Airpro is.
Before joining Airpro, I spent nearly two decades in the aviation industry on the airline side, and I recognise the feeling well. It is the same mix of anticipation and excitement you feel just before take-off, as the aircraft taxis along the runway and everything is ready for departure.
In the cockpit, during the take-off roll, there comes a moment defined by procedure when the so-called V1 speed is reached. Once V1 is reached, the take-off can no longer be safely aborted. At that point, the checklist dictates the standard call‑out: “V1, rotate.” The decision has been made, and there is only one direction ahead, up, and forward.
At the end of April, Airpro experienced its own V1 moment. Something that had been in preparation for quite some time became a reality: the company’s first-ever Leadership Trainee programme (ALT) was launched. The planning phase was now behind us, and the focus shifted to action.
The journey has now begun. The programme is underway, although not everything that lies ahead is yet known. That is exactly why this moment feels exciting and especially meaningful.
Leadership for the future of Airpro
The ALT programme was not created by chance. It emerged from a desire to strengthen internal leadership, ensure continuity of expertise, and build future leadership paths from within the organisation.
The aviation industry is fast-paced and demanding. It requires leadership that combines foresight, a human-centred approach, and a solid understanding of operational reality and service orientation. We need managers who can support their teams both in high‑demand situations and in routine operations. Leadership that is not built on ready-made answers, but on the ability to grow and learn together.
The ALT programme is Airpro’s response to this. It is a long-term investment in people and in potential. An investment in the kinds of stories that will be told in the future of Airpro.
The first programme, a shared journey
During the spring, a group of participants from across the organisation have stepped onto a shared journey. They represent different business areas, backgrounds, and career stages. Among them is experience from terminal and airside operations, administration, customer service, and airport security.
Together, they form a group whose story and journey are only just beginning.
For me, this journey is also personally meaningful. I have had the opportunity to design and build the ALT programme for Airpro from start to finish. I am also delivering the programme’s leadership modules in April and May, while at the same time building a broader framework in which leadership development is systematically embedded into everyday work and learning at Airpro. This work also lays the foundation for Airpro’s own approach to leadership development, supporting growth and development long after the programme itself.
It is a privilege to be part of this journey — to listen, observe, and walk alongside the participants as new insights begin to take shape.
The first in-person training days
The first module’s in-person coaching days have already begun. They have offered tangible moments to pause: discussions between different units, reflection on personal views of good leadership, and the first instances where thinking starts to gently shift in a new direction.
After just the first two days, participants articulated an insight that is also familiar to me: leadership is a broad whole that requires diverse skills and the ability to take into account different teams as well as changing, often fast-paced, situations.
Each trainee day is a step forward. Sometimes small, sometimes significant. Yet every learning experience moves participants forward on the journey towards becoming a manager in a way that supports Airpro’s strategic direction and the everyday reality of good leadership.
A journey that endures
Developing leadership is not a quick process. It is about building culture, experimenting, facing also uncertainty, and achieving success. The ALT programme is one important part of this broader whole. It makes visible that at Airpro there is a genuine commitment to developing expertise with a long-term perspective and based on trust.
We are not building only individual career stories. We are building the future of Airpro, one person and one insight at a time.
The journey has only just begun
As I walked back through the terminal corridor towards my car after the first days, the familiar bustle around me was unchanged. And yet, I felt that something had shifted. The programme is finally underway, the first steps have been taken, and the direction is clear.
The ALT programme is not just a spring project. It is a journey that continues over the course of a year and beyond, in everyday actions and leadership choices. A journey that the whole organisation can take part in by following, encouraging, and learning together.
And as is often the case on a journey of development, the best part is still ahead.
Johanna Vilen
