The Finnish Aviation Union’s industrial action causes disruptions on Finnair flights on 16 and 19 May 2025.

The Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) has announced work stoppages at Helsinki Airport on 16 and 19 May 2025. The industrial actions will affect many functions that are essential for Finnair’s flights during the day, such as customer service, aircraft maintenance, baggage handling, cargo, ground handling operations and catering services at Helsinki Airport. As a result, we must cancel several flights, and flight delays are also possible. Please be prepared for possible congestion at our service points and delays in baggage delivery at Helsinki Airport. Please check in in advance and allow enough time to arrive at the airport. We recommend packing the most essentials, like medicines, in your carry-on baggage following the carry-on baggage allowance.

We will start cancelling flights scheduled for Friday, 16 May 2025, on Wednesday, 14 May 2025.

We are still assessing the impact on our flights for 19 May 2025 and will update any new information on this page. We are very sorry for the uncertainty and harm this situation may cause you, and we will do our best to minimise the impact on your journey.

How do I know if my flight is disrupted?

If there are changes to your journey, we will contact you personally via SMS and/or email. Please go to Manage booking and check that we have your current contact information. You can find your flight details in Manage booking and Finnair app.

You can check the information on departing and arriving flights on the local airport’s website, for example Finavia’s site for Helsinki Airport. Below you will find instructions if your flight is cancelled.

In case you miss a connecting flight on the same ticket, we will book you a new flight to your destination and send you a message as soon as your travel plan is completed. If you have a connecting flight onwards from Helsinki, you can see real time status of your connecting flight onboard in Nordic Sky portal in our narrow-body Airbus aircrafts and via Inflight Entertainment in our wide-body aircrafts.

Your options, if your flight is cancelled

If you have received a message of a flight cancellation, these are your options:

• As soon as the flight has been cancelled, we start working on your new travel plan, and you’ll receive a separate SMS and/or email when we have booked you the best possible alternative flight(s).
• In Manage booking you can accept your new travel plan. You can also make changes to your travel date by contacting our customer service or the ticket issuing agency. Changes are possible to flights until 30 June 2025, excluding dates between 30 May and 2 June.
• If we could not offer you an alternative flight but you wish to travel, please contact our customer service for re-arrangements.
• If you don’t want to use any of the flights in your booking and want to cancel your whole journey, or we have cancelled all the flights in your booking, you can apply for a refund 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 our customer service or the ticket issuing agency.

Due to the flight change, we unfortunately might not be able to confirm some of the pre-ordered travel extras, such as meals or pet transportation, to your new flights. You can check your confirmed services in Manage booking. If you do not receive travel extras purchased from Finnair, you can apply for a refund.

Accommodation

If you need hotel accommodation due to our re-booking and you have already started your journey, we offer you hotel accommodation.

You can book a hotel yourself at Helsinki Airport and many other destinations using our online tool. If the online tool is available for you, you will receive further information via SMS and/or email. Follow the link in the message to select a hotel and get more information on your meal arrangements. If you don’t receive the SMS or email, please contact our ground crew at the airport to make the necessary arrangements.

In other destinations, please contact Finnair representative for the arrangements. Alternatively, if we couldn’t arrange accommodation for you or if you are not at the airport and you choose our rebooking, you can book the accommodation yourself and apply for compensation of reasonable hotel and ground transportation costs afterwards from us. Please keep the receipts for the claim and contact us via Contact and request forms.

If you are travelling with checked baggage

As 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, we automatically create a delayed baggage report for you at the latest when your baggage is located and rerouted. Please contact the staff at your final destination if your baggage didn’t arrive and you haven’t received a notification about a report from us via email or sms. You can manage and follow your delayed baggage report here. Please check from existing report that we have your correct contact details, delivery address and baggage information. We will also keep you informed with updates on your baggage arrival via SMS and/or email if we have your contact details in the report.

We deliver your baggage to you as soon as possible and will contact you to organize the delivery once the baggage has arrived at your destination. You can find local handler’s contact information and opening hours in your delayed baggage report. Read more information about delayed baggage here.

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. You can also contact us via chat on our website or in Finnair app. We are sorry that our customer service may be congested.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the reason for the industrial action?

A: The IAU trade union has announced work stoppages at Helsinki Airport on 16 and 19 May 2025. The industrial action will affect customer service, aircraft maintenance, baggage handling, cargo, ground handling operations and catering services at Helsinki Airport.

Q: Is Finnair staff part of the industrial action?

A: Yes, the majority of Finnair’s ground staff, as well as outsourced ground handling providers, are members of the IAU trade union and are therefore participating in the work stoppage as well.

Q: Why is Finnair not publishing the cancelled flights earlier?

A: Cancelling flights before industrial action is confirmed would not benefit our customers. The parties are continuously seeking a mutual agreement.

Q: If the industrial action is confirmed and Finnair is forced to cancel multiple flights, why isn’t a complete list of all cancelled flights published online?

A: As the situation may change during the cancellation process, it’s challenging to keep the list fully accurate. Some flights during the days of the industrial actions may also be cancelled for other reasons, such as weather or technical issues, which may not appear on the list. This can make it difficult for customers to interpret.

Q: How do I know if my flight is cancelled?

A: We will contact you personally via SMS and/or email if your flight is cancelled. Please check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information. You can find your flights’ up-to-date details in Manage booking and Finnair app.