HELSINKI, 10 March 2022: Finnair continues serving Shanghai and Seoul, but flights to Osaka and Hong Kong remain grounded until the end of April, the airline reported earlier this week.
Finnair updated its traffic programme in response to the closure of Russian airspace, which impacted the cost of both cargo and passenger services adding at least one hour of flying time to destinations in Asia.
Starting this 10 March, Finnair flies to Shanghai once a week on Thursdays, and as of 12 March to Seoul three times a week on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The flight routes avoid Russian airspace, and the flight time for the Shanghai and Seoul routes will be 12 to 14 hours, depending on the direction. Both routes go around the Russian airspace from the south.
“We strive to offer our customers connections between Europe and Asia to the extent it is possible in this challenging situation,” said Finnair’s chief commercial officer, Ole Orvér.
Avoiding the Russian airspace on flights between Europe and Asia has considerable impacts on flight times, thus impacting fuel, personnel, and navigation costs.
Finnair also announced earlier this week that it would continue to fly to Tokyo, going around the Russian airspace, with four weekly flights that started on 9 March. Finnair continues to fly to Bangkok, Delhi, Phuket, and Singapore, avoiding Russian airspace routes.
