Travel updates

21 February 2020

Delays for handling departing, transferring and arriving baggage are expected at Helsinki Airport on 21-23 February, as the Finnish Aviation Labour Union’s (IAU) overtime ban causes a temporary shortage of resources for the baggage handling services.

If you are travelling from Helsinki on 21-23 February, we recommend you to arrive at the airport in good time before your flight and consider travelling with carry-on baggage only. Please pack all the essentials in your carry-on baggage.

If your baggage didn’t arrive on the same flight with you to your destination, please do the following:

• Follow the instructions sent to you via SMS/email or contact the Arrival Service desk at your destination to create a delay report for your baggage.
• At Helsinki Airport, we recommend you to create the delay report online with your own mobile devices.
• You can then continue your journey. We do our best to deliver your baggage to you as soon as possible.
• We will contact you personally to organize the delivery of your baggage after it has arrived.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience.

Read more about delayed baggage.

You can check your passenger rights here.

14 February 2020

Finnair cancels its flights to Beijing Capital Airport and to Shanghai between 1 March and 28 March 2020, as the coronavirus situation has led to a temporary decline in air travel between China and Europe. Finnair will also cancel one of its double daily flights to Hong Kong between 1 March and 28 March 2020. We continue to follow the situation closely and will update any new information on this page. We are sorry for the harm this situation may cause you.
 
Cancelled flights:

• Flights between Helsinki and Beijing Capital, Shanghai, Beijing Daxing, Nanjing and Guangzhou until 28 March 2020 
• AY102/101 flights between Helsinki and Hong Kong between 1 March and 28 March 2020. Our Hong Kong flights AY099/100 operate normally.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this situation may cause you and do our best to minimize the effects to you. 

If you have a booking on any of the disrupted flights, we’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail. Please go to Manage booking or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information so that we can reach you in a case of disruption. 

You can choose from the following options if your flight is cancelled:

• Change your travel until 30 June 2020 (this means the return flight is latest on 30 June 2020). 
• We do our best to re-route you to your destination. 
• You can apply for a refund for the unused part of your flight ticket and the purchased travel extras. Apply for refund.

Our Hong Kong flights AY099/100 operate normally, but if you have a Finnair ticket issued before 14 February 2020 to or from Hong Kong for travel between 25 January and 31 March 2020 you can, if you so wish:

• change your travel until 30 June 2020 (this means the return flight is latest on 30 June 2020) or
• cancel the booking and apply for a refund in Manage booking

If you wish to make changes to your flights and choose a later date for your travel, please contact Finnair Customer Service or your travel agency. We are at your service also on Twitter @FinnairHelps, on our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com. We are sorry that our customer service is congested. 

You can check your passenger rights here.

10 February 2020

During the winter holiday season, the number of customers at Helsinki Airport and on our flights increases. Busy times are expected at the airport from time to time. Below you’ll find some tips on how to make your travel smoother.

Before travel

• We recommend you to check-in in advance to avoid queues at the airport. Advance check-in starts 36 hours before the flight departure either online on finnair.com or with Finnair App. You can download the Finnair App (iOS or Android) here.
• If you are travelling with extra baggage, you can pay the extra fee via Manage booking on the previous day.
• You can also bring your baggage to the airport already in the previous evening. Baggage can be dropped off between 6 pm and 9.30 pm. One family member may hand in the baggage for the whole family, provided that he or she can show all tickets and travel documents.
• If you are travelling with your family, check our family travel pages for tips to prepare for your journey. You’ll find tips on how to make flying less stressful for children from our Blue Wings magazine.
• The flights may be full, and the space for carry-on baggage on board is limited. To make your flight as smooth and comfortable as possible, it pays off to pack carry-on baggage light and tight.

On the day of departure

• Please allow some extra time when arriving at the airport, because there may be queues for the check-in, bag drop and security check.
• You can check-in for your flight at one of the self-service kiosks and leave your bags through self-service bag drops in the departure hall. Please remember to print the bag tag at a check-in kiosk before leaving the baggage.
• Please note that the parking arrangements at Helsinki Airport have changed. Parking halls P1 and P2 are closed. Parking halls P3 and P5 and outside parking area P4 are at your service.
• Traffic in front of the airport is congested from time to time. To avoid congestion, you can only stop briefly in front of the terminal to drop someone off. The new place for dropping passengers off at Terminal 2 is on the arrivals level. If you want to accompany someone to the terminal or pick someone up from the airport, please use the short-term parking in P3.
• Utilizing public transport or Finnair City Bus is an option to make arriving at the airport smoother.

Allowed baggage

• The baggage allowance is marked on your ticket, for example, 1 PC means that you are allowed to check-in one bag max. 23 kg free of charge. The fee for carrying sports equipment depends on the baggage allowance of your ticket as well as how much other baggage you’re taking with you. Read more about travelling with sports equipment here.
• With our baggage allowance calculator, it’s quick and easy to find out how much baggage you can take on your flight and calculate extra baggage fees in advance.

For further information, we are happy to help you via Twitter @FinnairHelps, on our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com.

We wish you a lovely holiday season!

7 February 2020

Due to the coronavirus cases in China, we have made changes to our cancellation and change policies for our flights to and from Mainland China until 25 January to 31 March 2020. If you have a Finnair ticket issued before 28 January 2020 to or from Mainland China for travel between 25 January and 31 March 2020 you can, if you so wish:

• change your travel until 31 May 2020 or
• cancel the booking and apply for a refund in Manage booking

Our Hong Kong flights operate normally, but if you have a Finnair ticket issued before 28 January 2020 to or from Hong Kong for travel between 25 January and 29 February 2020 you can, if you so wish:

• change your travel until 31 May 2020 or
• cancel the booking and apply for a refund in Manage booking

For postponing your travel, please contact our customer service or your travel agency. We are at your service also on Twitter @FinnairHelps, in our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com.

World Health Organisation has issued instruction precautionary measures for travellers here, stressing the importance of usual precautions, including frequent hand-washing.

We are following the situation closely and will update any new information on this page. We are sorry for the harm this situation may cause you.

You can check your passenger rights here.

7 February 2020, last updated 14 February 2020

Due to the current outbreak of coronavirus, there are entry and transit restrictions in place in many countries.

We recommend that you visit the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) website for more information, or alternatively contact the embassies of the countries to/via which you plan to travel, especially if you have visited China in the last 14 days, or travel on a Chinese passport.

Limitations in Finnair app check-in

Due to coronavirus related travel restrictions to some of our destinations, there are limitations in Finnair app check-in currently. Please complete your check-in on our website, if you can’t complete it in Finnair app.

31 January 2020
The health and wellbeing of customers and personnel is a top priority for Finnair. Following a thorough analysis of all currently available information on the coronavirus and its impacts on air travel to and from China, Finnair has decided to cancel the flights to/from mainland China as follows:

•    Beijing and Shanghai routes between February 6 and February 29, 2020
•    Beijing Daxing, Nanjing and Guangzhou routes between February 6 and March 29

Our Hong Kong flights operate normally.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this situation may cause you and do our best to minimise the effects to you. 

If you have a booking on any of the disrupted flights, we’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail. Please go to Manage booking or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information so that we can reach you in a case of disruption. 

You can choose from the following options if your flight is cancelled:
•    You can change your ticket so that the flight is before February 6, 2020.
•    You can postpone your trip so that the return flight is latest May 31, 2020. 
•    We do our best to re-route you to your destination. 
•    You can apply for a full refund for the unused part of your flight ticket and the purchased travel extras. Apply for refund.

If you wish to make changes to your flights and choose a later date for your travel, if there is availability, please contact Finnair Customer Service or your travel agency. We are at your service also on Twitter @FinnairHelps, in our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com. We are sorry that our customer service is congested. 

You can check your passenger rights here.

January 28, 2020
 
Due to the recent suspension of group travel from China, and the number of cancellations this has led to certain of our Chinese routes, we will cancel our three weekly flights to Beijing Daxing International Airport and our two weekly flights to Nanjing until March 29, 2020. Cancellations are in force as of February 5 for Daxing and as of February 8 for Nanjing. We are sorry for the inconvenience this situation may cause you and do our best to minimise the effects to you. 

We continue to operate daily to Beijing Capital Airport and to Shanghai, and twice a day to Hongkong, and to Guangzhou twice a week. 
  
If you have a booking on any of the disrupted flights, we’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail. Please go to Manage booking or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information so that we can reach you in a case of disruption. 

You can choose from the following options if your flight is cancelled:
 

1. You can change your flight date until May 31, 2020 
2. We do our best to re-route you to another Finnair destination in China. As the availability of alternative flights is limited, re-routing may take time. Thank you for your patience. After we’ve re-routed your journey, you can find your updated travel plan and other possible flight options via Manage booking. If you wish to make changes to your re-routing and choose a later date for your travel, if there is availability, please contact Finnair Customer Service or your travel agency. 
3. You can apply for a full refund for your unused flight ticket. 

 
For further information, please contact our customer service. We are at your service also on Twitter @FinnairHelps, in our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com. We are sorry that our customer service may be congested. 
 
You can check your passenger rights here. 

03 February 2020

Due to temporal lack of aircraft, Finnair leases an ATR aircraft and crew from DAT LT, a Lithuanian subsidiary of Danish Air Transport. The leased aircraft will operate some of our Finnish and regional routes starting February 3, 2020.

The cockpit and cabin crew come from DAT LT. Finnair service concept is followed.
If you have a booking on any of the flights affected, we’ll do our best to inform you about the changed aircraft by text message. Please check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information. Please note that the change may also happen with short notice.
If you wish to change or cancel your flight due to the change in the operating carrier, we ask you kindly to contact Finnair Customer Service.
You can check your passenger rights here.
We apologize for any inconvenience!

24 January 2020

We are closely following the situation related to the coronavirus cases in China and will update any new information on this page. We continue normal operations to and from China.

European authorities have not set any travel restrictions to China. World Health Organisation has issued instruction precautionary measures for travellers here, stressing the importance of usual precautions, including frequent hand-washing.

You can check your passenger rights here.

23 January 2020

We expect our flights between the UK and Finland as well as the transfer traffic through the UK to continue normally on the day of Brexit and after that. However, there may be changes in the customer processes at London Heathrow airport, and congestion is possible from time to time.

If you are travelling to/from/via the UK on 31 January 2020 or some days after that, you can do the following:

• Follow our and your possible other airlines’ communications. We will update any new information on this page, and you can see the up-to-date flight information here.
• Make sure that we have your up-to-date contact information in your flight reservation. You can check this through Manage booking or Finnair mobile app. We will contact you directly if there would be changes to your flight.
• We also encourage you to reserve extra time at the airport, if you are travelling on the day of Brexit or some days after that, as delays are possible at the airport.

What if my flight is cancelled or I miss my connecting flight due to Brexit?

We will contact you directly if your flight would be disrupted. If your flight is cancelled or you miss your connecting flight, we will find you the best possible alternative flight to your destination as soon as possible. You’ll then find your new flight details at Manage booking or through Finnair app. 

Where can I find more information about Brexit and travelling to the UK? 

We will update information on this page, but you can also search for information on the UK government website.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland also provides information about Brexit and its effects on travelling here.

Will there be any changes to the travel document requirements for EU citizens travelling to or via the UK?

The passport requirements for EU citizens will not change, and you can still enter the UK using a passport which is valid for the duration of your intended stay.  According to the current information, citizens of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland will not need a visa to travel to the UK. However, the UK government advises EU citizens to continue to check their website for updates on visa requirements. You can find more information about visiting the UK after Brexit here.

Will there be any changes to the travel document requirements for British citizens travelling to or via the EU countries?

As a British citizen travelling to the Schengen area, your passport will need to be valid 3 months beyond your intended stay. Passports that have been issued with a validity of longer than 10 years, will not be accepted. The EU has confirmed that British nationals will be able to enter the Schengen area without a visa even after Brexit, a visa-free stay will be allowed for a combined total of 90 days within any 180-day period of time.

My flight arrives in or departs from the UK. What should I know about check-in, security control, border control, immigration or other airport services?

In the UK, all airport services will remain as before. EU citizens will be able to enter and leave the UK as they do now, and for example, use e-gates or automated border control when travelling on a biometric passport.

My journey goes through London Heathrow Airport. What do I need to know to transit there?

There will be no changes in the transfer services. However, congestion is possible during the first days of Brexit. Finnair flights arrive in the terminal 3, and to transfer to another flight that departs from another terminal you’ll go through the flight connections centre. Please follow the airport signs. Also, baggage transfers to connecting flights continue as before. You can see more information about transfers in London Heathrow from the airport’s website.

My flight arrives in Helsinki from the UK. Are there changes at the airport?

Most airport services remain the same after Brexit. However, after the Brexit UK citizens can’t, for now, use the automated border control gates. Please use the manned lanes instead.

Can I still travel with my pet to the EU or to the UK?

You can continue to travel with your pet as before. We recommend you to check the requirements of your destination country well in advance before you travel and allow enough time for preparing your journey. Please note that pets can only be shipped as cargo to the UK.

You’ll find more information about travelling with pets on Finnair flights here.

More information about travelling with pets to the UK is available on the UK's government website.

Will there be different Customs requirements for bringing goods into the UK / to Helsinki?

You’ll find information about bringing goods into the UK here.

For instructions about bringing goods to Finland, please go to the Finnish Customs’ website.

15 January 2020

Due to the unrest in Iran, Finnair is not using the Iranian airspace. This causes changes to our traffic plan between Helsinki and Dubai, and we need to cancel some of our flights to/from Dubai from February to April. We are sorry for the inconvenience this situation causes you and do our best to minimize the effects to you. We are following the situation closely and will update any new information on this page.

The following flights will be cancelled between 1 February and 29 March:

• Helsinki-Dubai at 20.40 (AY1969) (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday), except during the winter holiday season 15 February - 28 February flights will be operated with a fuel stop in Hurghada en route. 
• Dubai-Helsinki at 06.05 (AY1970) (Monday, Friday, Sunday), except during the winter holiday season 15 February - 28 February flights will be operated with a fuel stop in Hurghada en route

The following flights will be cancelled between 29 March and 13 April:

• Helsinki-Dubai at 20.40 (AY1969) (Thursday, Sunday)
• Dubai-Helsinki at 06.05 (AY1970) (Monday, Friday)

If you have a booking on any of the disrupted flights, we’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail. Please go to Manage booking or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information so that we can reach you in a case of disruption.

You can choose from the following options if your flight is cancelled

1. We do our best to re-route you to your destination on other Finnair flights as soon as possible. As the availability of alternative flights is limited, re-routing may take time. Thank you for your patience. After we’ve re-routed your journey, you can find your updated travel plan and other possible flight options and dates via Manage booking. If you wish to make changes to your re-routing and choose a later date for your travel, if there is availability, you can also contact Finnair Customer Service or your travel agency.
2. You can change your travel date -1/+7 days from the original date via Manage booking, or by contacting Finnair Customer Service or your travel agency.
3. You can apply for a full refund for the unused part of your flight ticket.

Longer flight time for flights to be operated

As we are not using the Iranian airspace, the flight route between Helsinki and Dubai is longer than usual and fueling stops are possible. Due to this, the flight time of our flights between Helsinki and Dubai is approximately 2 hours longer than usual. Please take this into account when preparing for your flight. 

We will provide a complimentary, light hot meal and a snack during the flight. Preorder meals will not be served on these flights, and they are not available for purchase. If you’ve already pre-ordered a meal for your flight, we will refund it to you automatically. 

For further information, please contact our customer service. We are at your service also on Twitter @FinnairHelps, in our Facebook pages and via chat on finnair.com. We are sorry that our customer service may be congested.

You can check your passenger rights here.

15 January 2020

We have leased Airbus A321 aircraft from our oneworld partner Iberia to cover a temporary shortage of aircraft as our operations continue to grow. The aircraft will be used for flights AY1654/3 (Barcelona) and AY1662/1 (Madrid) until March 30, 2023.

With the leased aircraft, the flight deck crew comes from Iberia, while the cabin crew is Finnair’s. Finnair’s service concept is followed on the flights.

When buying tickets through finnair.com, the operating airline is shown on the ‘Select Flights’ page. If you already have a booking, we’ll inform you about the changed aircraft via SMS and/or e-mail. Please go to Manage booking on our website or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information.

If you wish to change or cancel your flight due to the change in the operating carrier, we ask you kindly to contact Finnair Customer Service. We are also at your service via chat on finnair.com, on Twitter @FinnairHelps and in our Facebook pages.

You can check your passenger rights on our website.

We apologize for any inconvenience!

8 January 2020

Due to the unrest in Iran, Finnair is not using Iranian airspace, and this has an effect on our flight routes to Dubai. We will avoid the airspace of the conflict area in Iran and Iraq and fly to/from Dubai using a longer flight route, which will require also a fueling stop. This means the flight time gets approximately 2 hours longer. Please take this into account when preparing for your flight.

We are following the situation and will update any new information on this page.

You can check up to date flight information here.

We’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail if there are changes to your flight. Please go to Manage booking or Finnair App and check that we have your current contact information so that we can reach you if needed. 

If you miss your connecting flight due to a delayed first flight, we’ll re-route you to your destination. As the availability of alternative flights is limited, re-routing may take time. Thank you for your patience. After we’ve re-routed your journey, you can find your updated travel plan via Manage booking.

Due to the increased flight time, Finnair will provide a complimentary, light hot meal and a snack during the flight. Pre-order meals will no longer be served nor available for purchase. Pre-ordered meals will be refunded for customers.

For further information, we are at your service on Twitter @FinnairHelps, in our Facebook pages and via chat on the website. 

You can check your passenger rights here.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you and do our best to minimize the effects to you.

15 January 2020

Due to runway maintenance, Joensuu Airport will be closed from 22 June to 09 July 2020 and Jyväskylä airport from 03 July to 16 August 2020. During that period our flights between Helsinki and Joensuu and Helsinki and Jyväskylä will not be operated. 

We are sorry for the inconvenience! 

If you are a Finnish citizen, please note that your passport must be valid for a minimum of 2 months from the arrival date.

If you are travelling to Cuba without a visa, you need to obtain a Tourist Card (Tarjeta del Turista) prior to your travel. The Tourist Card can be obtained from the Finnair Service Desk at Finnair departure hall at Helsinki Airport on the day of the departure for 59 EUR. 

If you need a visa, please contact the Embassy of Cuba.

If you are not a Finnish citizen, please check your passport validity and visa requirements from the IATA Travel Centre site. Please note that those born in Cuba must always have a valid Cuban passport when entering the country. This applies also when the passenger has citizenship of another country.

19 August 2019

The European Aviation Safety Agency EASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration have issued instructions regarding the 15-inch MacBook Pro units manufactured between Sept 2015 and Feb 2017 that are subject to the recall by Apple on June 20, 2019, due to battery issues.

Such devices are not allowed in checked-in baggage or onboard on Finnair flights before their batteries have been replaced. Customers are responsible for ensuring the status of their device before their flight via Apple webpages at https://support.apple.com/15-inch-macbook-pro-battery-recall 

12 March 2019

Due to temporal lack of aircraft, Finnair leases an ATR aircraft and crew from DAT LT, a Lithuanian subsidiary of Danish Air Transport. The leased aircraft will operate some of our Finnish and regional routes from Apr 15 to Dec 19, 2019, if necessary. During that time all cabins of Norra’s ATR fleet will be renewed.

The cockpit and cabin crew come from DAT LT. Finnair service concept is followed.

If you have a booking on any of the flights affected, we’ll do our best to inform you about the changed aircraft by text message. Please check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information. Please note that the change may also happen with short notice.

If you wish to change or cancel your flight due to the change in the operating carrier, we ask you kindly to contact Finnair Customer Service. You can check your Passenger rights here.

You can check your passenger rights on our website.

We apologize for any inconvenience!