Finnair Warns of Cancelled Flights and Delays  Due to Strike at Helsinki Airport

Strike and support actions are planned for Friday, 10 March from 3 pm – 7 pm EET at Helsinki Airport, related to the dispute between the Finnish Aviation Union and the service sector employer union Palta about labour agreements in Airpro Oy.

The strike will considerably impact Finnair’s flights on Friday, even though Finnair is in no way party to the dispute.

If implemented, the strike actions would take place during the most critical hours for Finnair traffic. Finnair has over 90 flights scheduled for Friday, 10 March between 3 pm and 7 pm.

During the strike, critical ground services will not be available or are very limited.

”If the strike takes place, we are unfortunately forced to cancel tens of flights. We are currently working on the traffic plan, and will communicate flight cancellations during Wednesday and Thursday, as the plans proceed,” said Jaakko Schildt, Finnair Chief Operating Officer. ”We will inform customers whose flights are cancelled directly with text messages, and do our best to find a suitable rerouting for them.”

Customers, who have a reservation for a Finnair flight on Friday, 10 March or on one of the other possible strike days (14 March and 17 March), can change their travel date until April 2 to avoid travelling on the dates when the strikes might affect Finnair’s flights.

”It is extremely unfortunate that the strikes can disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Finnair customers during a very busy winter travel season. Finnair is not a party to the dispute, but the impacts will cause great trouble and worry to our customers. Additionally, they will create a negative financial impact of millions of euros for us. We also hope that the strike will not affect the image of Finland as a travel destination,” Schildt said.

The strike also affects catering services and baggage handling.

Finnair’s on-board meal and drink service will also be limited during the strike. Only water will be served on domestic flights and water and sandwiches will be served on European flights. The delivery of pre-order meals and other products will also be significantly restricted.

Finnair recommends customers to travel only with hand luggage on Friday, 10 March if possible, as baggage handling will also be disturbed. Normal weight and size limitations of hand luggage must still be followed.

Longer waiting times are unfortunately expected in Finnair’s customer service, and we ask for customers’ patience.

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

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