SINGAPORE, 1 March 2022: Finnair confirmed Monday it would continue flying to Singapore, Delhi in India and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, but other Asian services are suspended until 6 March.
Finnair in a Twitter statement on Monday said it was joining many other European airlines to suspend flights through Russian airspace for one week. The suspension ends on 6 March.
Flights that span Russian airspace to Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo and Shanghai in Asia, along with flights from Helsinki to Moscow and St Petersburg, are grounded.
Flights from Helsinki to Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore and Delhi and from Stockholm Arlanda to Bangkok and Phuket remain operational, but the flight time increases by one hour.
Meanwhile, the airline reported to the Helsinki stock exchange that the Russian airspace closure would notably impact air traffic between Europe and Asia, which plays a vital role in Finnair’s network.
In response, the company withdrew its financial guidance related to Q1 2022 and the operational environment in the half-year 2022 provided in the airline’s results released for Q4 2021.
“The crisis in Ukraine touches all Europeans, and we understand the EU’s decision to close its airspace. We are implementing our contingency plan as the situation has a considerable impact on Finnair. Bypassing the Russian airspace lengthens flight times to Asia considerably and, thus, the operation of most of our passenger and cargo flights to Asia is not economically sustainable or competitive”, said Finnair CEO, Topi Manner.
Finnair is currently preparing new traffic and cost savings plans in case the situation prolongs and will provide further information during the coming weeks.
