Effects of Helsinki Airport ground handling staff’s walkout on our flights on 06 May 2024 | Finnair Finland

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Effects of Helsinki Airport ground handling staff’s walkout on our flights on 06 May 2024

The ground handling staff walkout has an effect on our flights 06 May 2024.

Employees of companies providing ground handling services to Finnair have participated in an unannounced walkout at Helsinki Airport on 6 May 2024 starting at 15 pm. Ground service companies provide Finnair with baggage and cargo loading services, among other things.

The walkout of the ground handling staff causes delays of our flights. Disruptions and delays can also be expected in the handling of baggage.

We monitor the situation closely and will update this page with the latest information. We are truly sorry for the situation and the inconvenience it may cause you, and we will do our best to minimise the impact on your travel plans. 

We recommend arriving at Helsinki Airport at the latest two hours before the flight. You can check Helsinki Airport’s departing and arriving flights here.

How do I know if there are changes to my flight?

If you have a booking on any of the disrupted flights, we’ll contact you personally via SMS and/or e-mail.  If your original flight is cancelled, you can find your new flight details in Manage Booking and Finnair app within the next few hours after you have received the cancellation notification. 

Please go to Manage booking  and check that we have your current contact information. 

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

  • We do our best to re-route you to your destination as soon as possible. As the availability of alternative flights is limited, re-routing may take time. Thank you for your patience. We’ll send you your new flight information via SMS and/or email. Please accept the change or see other possible flight options in  Manage booking.  

  • If we are unable to offer you an alternative flight but you wish to travel, you can contact our customer service for re-arrangements.   

  • In case you don’t want to use any of the flights in your booking and want to cancel your whole booking and apply for a refund or we have cancelled all the flights in your booking, you can apply for a refund online in Manage booking 

  • If you want to use some of the flights in your booking and apply for a refund of a cancelled flight, please contact ourcustomer service. 

  • For flight tickets purchased through other service providers, such as a travel agent, please contact them directly to make changes to your booking or apply for a refund. 

Accommodation

If you need hotel accommodation due to our re-booking and you have already started your journey, we will do our best to arrange hotel accommodation for you. If you are at the airport, please contact our ground crew at the airport. 

Due to limited availability of hotel rooms at the moment, you can also book the accommodation yourself and apply for compensation of reasonable hotel and ground transportation expenses afterwards, if you accept our rebooking. Please keep the receipts for the claim and contact us via our contact and request forms. 

Baggage handling during the strike

As our baggage handling services are expected to be disrupted, there may be delays in baggage deliveries. We recommend packing the most essentials, like medicines, in your carry-on baggage, following your carry-on baggage allowance. 

If your baggage didn’t arrive on the same flight with you, please read your next steps here 

You can follow the status of your baggage tracing and update your contact details online using www.finnair.com/bag. We will also send you updates of the tracing via SMS and email if we have your contact details in the report. We deliver your baggage to you as soon as possible and will contact you personally to organise the delivery once the baggage has arrived.  

Deliveries of delayed baggage, unfortunately currently take longer than normal. Our customer service regarding delayed baggage at the airport and via phone and email is currently congested. 

Contacting our customer service


If you booked your ticket through a travel agency or a tour operator, please contact them to make changes to your reservation or to apply for a refund. If you booked your ticket through Finnair, our customer service is working hard to help you in this exceptional situation. We recommend the chat service on our website or via Finnair app. We are sorry that our customer service may be congested. 

You can check your passenger rights here. 

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