Travel Light and Pack Your Patience as Strikes Disrupt Finnair Services

Finnair has published an alert to customers on the impact of the strikes resulting from a labour dispute between the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) and the service sector employer union, Palta.

While Finnair’s employees are not involved in strike action, the strike will impact ground handling services provided by Finnair’s subcontractors and are expected to limit services and delay flights.

Finnair has proactively cancelled a number of flights on Sunday and Monday, has warned of reduced in-flight food and beverage services, and asked passengers to pack light for their journeys.

The strikes and support strikes are scheduled to take place on Monday, March 6, between 3am and 9am in Finland. International long-haul flights are not affected by cancellations.

Cancelled flights on Sunday:

• AY327 Helsinki – Vaasa
• AY229 Helsinki – Turku
• AY269 Helsinki – Tampere
• AY575 Helsinki – Jyväskylä
• AY517 Helsinki – Kuopio

Cancelled flights on Monday:

• AY320 Vaasa-Helsinki
• AY230 Turku-Helsinki
• AY270 Tampere-Helsinki
• AY574 Jyväskylä-Helsinki
• AY522 Kuopio – Helsinki
• AY671 ja AY672 Helsinki – Gothenburg – Helsinki
• AY211 Helsinki – Kokkola – Tampere – Helsinki
• AY503 ja AY504 Helsinki – Kuopio – Helsinki
• AY215 Helsinki – Mariehamn – Turku – Helsinki
• AY363 ja AY364 Helsinki – Oulu – Helsinki

Finnair has said it will inform customers affected by flight cancellations directly with text messages and by email. More information on flight status will also be made available at finnair.com/info.

Customers whose flights have been cancelled due to the strike or support strike are eligible for a refund of the ticket price, or can change their dates of travel until March 20 without incurring extra charges.

“We are extremely sorry for the trouble and inconvenience the strike and support strikes will cause. It is very regrettable that our customers’ journeys are either delayed or cancelled due to these strikes. Finnair is not a party to this dispute. We naturally hope that the parties find a solution to their dispute as soon as possible,” says Jaakko Schildt, Finnair’s Chief Operating Officer.

Finnair advises all customers travelling on Monday, March 6 to expect flight delays throughout the day. Finnair’s on-board meal and drink service will also be limited. Only water can be served on domestic flights. Water and sandwiches can be served on European flights.

“The delivery of pre-order meals and other products will also be significantly restricted,” the airline states.

Finnair is asking that customers travel only with hand luggage if possible, because baggage handling services are affected by the strikes. However, standard weight and size limitations on hand luggage still apply.

Finnair also expects delays in response time from its customer services, and is asking for patience.

Customers can contact Finnair via the Chat service on Finnair’s website, by phone, or on social media by sending a message to @finnairhelps on Twitter or by sending a private message on Finnair’s Facebook pages.

Helsinki Airport has warned that strikes would impact air traffic, and has also deployed special customer care representatives at the terminal to aide those affected by flight disruptions.