Finnair has become subject to the Russian authorities' retaliative measures
in the noise regulation dispute between Russia and the EU countries.
Finnair has been forced to cancel two of its weekly Moscow and St.
Petersburg frequencies respectively. The cancelled flights are AY155 and
AY156 between Moscow and Helsinki operated on Thursdays and Fridays, and
AY167 and AY168 between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, also operated on the
same days. The flights are cancelled until further notice, and the
cancellations become effective today.
All the passengers on the cancelled flights this week have been successfully
transferred to other Finnair flights or flights operated by other airlines.
Finnair aims to do the same for passengers booked on these cancelled flights
in the future.
The new EU noise regulations came into effect on April 1, 2002 and they
affect air traffic to airports in EU countries. Flights with the noisiest
aircraft can no longer be operated to EU airports. The rules are based on
ICAO regulations adopted already in 1991.
As all aircraft operated by Russian airliners do not meet the EU standards,
they have become subject to flight restrictions. For this reason, the
Russian aviation authorities have decided to restrict flights of some
non-Russian airliners to Russia.
The Finnish Civil Aviation Administration has contacted the Russian
authorities concerning this matter and discussions on the problem will be
held in the near future. |
