Finnair to cancel 140 flights due to industrial action in Finland on 2 May

The Finnish Aviation Union IAU has announced industrial action causing extensive disruptions to air traffic on Friday 2 May. According to the IAU, the industrial action will be four-hour-long and will take place in different shifts. Therefore, the industrial actions are not tied to a specific time but will affect many functions that are essential for Finnair flights during the day, such as aircraft maintenance, ground handling operations and catering services.

As the industrial action will cause significant disruptions to the operation of flights, Finnair will have to cancel approximately 140 flights on Friday. Flight cancellations are expected to affect approximately 12,000 Finnair customers. Finnair will offer customers of cancelled flights an alternative flight, which the customer can see in the Manage booking service on Finnair’s website or in the Finnair mobile application.

“It is unreasonable that 12,000 of our customers have to change their travel plans during the May Day weekend due to industrial action. We hoped until the end that industrial action could have been avoided. We are sorry for the situation and will do everything we can to ensure that every customer receives a suitable new routing as soon as possible,” says Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer at Finnair.

Customers whose flight was cancelled due to industrial action will be informed about the cancellation as soon as it has been done. After this, the customer will receive a message and be offered a new route, which will also be visible in Finnair’s Manage booking service and mobile application. Due to the high number of cancellations, rerouting all customers may take time, and customers might have to wait for a while for their new route. The offered routing can be changed within the limits of flight availability in Manage booking or through customer service. Alternatively, customers can cancel their reservation and apply for a refund for the unused ticket.

The industrial action might cause disruptions, for example, in the baggage handling at Helsinki Airport on Friday, so customers travelling on Friday are encouraged to check-in in advance, arrive at the airport on time and pack essential items, such as medicines, in hand baggage.

The IAU has also announced similar industrial action on Monday 5 May. Finnair is still assessing the exact effects of the industrial action on Monday’s traffic, but it is likely that if the industrial action takes place, it will cause disruptions on Monday as well.

The article Finnair to cancel 140 flights due to industrial action in Finland on 2 May first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.