1 week Ago
The cancellations apply to selected flights between 1 June and 11 August. Customers impacted by the changes were contacted last week and have been offered alternative travel arrangements, Tallqvist said. The shortage stems from ongoing labour negotiations between Finnair and its pilots.
Talks began in February, prompted by uncertainties surrounding Finnair’s partnership with Australian carrier Qantas. “The future of our Qantas cooperation remains unresolved due to pilot labour action. We have not been able to operate the flights for Qantas as contractually agreed.
This creates a potential long-term reduction in work, which led us to start change negotiations earlier this spring,” Tallqvist told Yle. Finnair currently leases two Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft and crews to Qantas. These aircraft operate on routes between Sydney and both Bangkok and Singapore, employing 90 Finnair pilots.
The lease arrangement was made after Finnair lost access to many of its traditional long-haul routes due to Russian airspace restrictions. Finnair operates over 300 flights daily during the summer, but plans for pilot training and recruitment had to be suspended due to the labour negotiations. This created a crew shortage for the peak summer travel period, resulting in the cancellations.
The airline has not specified which routes will be most affected, though the changes are spread across various destinations. The first report of the cancellations was published by Iltalehti . HT.
