Finnair says it will be forced to cancel nearly 300 flights on December 9 and 13 after the union that represents hundreds of pilots at the Helsinki-based carrier announced two days of strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Over the two days of strike action, Finnair estimates that 33,000 passengers will be impacted, and the airline has warned that some passengers will have to be booked onto flights days later than originally planned.
“It is disappointing that the Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association has chosen to strike rather than negotiate,” lamented Chief Operating Officer Jaakko Schildt on Saturday.
“This, unfortunately, disrupts the travel plans of thousands of our customers during the pre-Christmas season. We are doing everything we can to serve our customers well even in this difficult situation and will offer alternative flights to as many customers as possible,” Schildt continued.
Around 140 flights will be axed on December 9, while the walkout on December 13 will result in 150 fights being grounded. The airline says that it will attempt to reroute as many passengers as possible on partner airlines and alternative services.
“Finding suitable new flights for thousands of customers takes time, and our customer service will be congested during the weekend,” Schildt warned.
“We ask our customers to be patient. We are all doing our utmost to make it possible for our customers to carry out their travel plans despite this unfortunate situation.”
Finnair has been through a tumultuous few years after first facing the devastation of the pandemic and then the fallout from the closure of Russian airspace.
In the years leading up to the pandemic, Finnair built its long-haul network to serve Asian markets via the shorter Polar route, which utilizes Russian airspace. When the pandemic hit, these Asian markets were shuttered, but when they eventually reopened, Finnair no longer benefited from overflying Russia.
Finnair has been through a painful cost-cutting transformation program that saw the airline lease out its underutilized aircraft to other airlines, including British Airways and Qantas.
The airline has also shifted some of its long-haul network to North America, although the airline was further hit by a wave of political strikes earlier this year across Finland.
