Finnair plans to ground most of its flights on February 1 and 2, as a wave of political strikes hits Finland in response to government plans to dilute workers’ rights.
An increasing number of labor unions are announcing strikes from late January to early February. The various strikes will have a serious impact on daily life across Finland.
In what has been compared to the closest thing to a general strike in Finland since 1917, Finnair says strikes by various airport unions will make it impossible to operate most flights.
Finnair will cancel around 550 flights in the first two days of February. By comparison, the Helsinki-based airline typically operates around 280 flights per day.
Finnair will attempt to operate a very small number of flights during the strike, but the airline warned that baggage loading and on-board meals could be significantly affected.
Finnair announced that it has started the process of rebooking passengers who are connecting through Helsinki on flights operated by other airlines that bypass Finland.
“We do our best to offer suitable flight options to as many customers as possible, but the number of alternative flights is limited,” Jari Pajanen said., Finnair’s Vice President of Flight Operations Center.
“Our customer service team is busier than usual and we ask that customers wait to be rerouted from us as wait times may be longer,” Päiyanen continued.
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