(22/01/24)
Several trade unions in Finland announced on
Friday that a 48-hour political industrial action will take place
on 1 and 2 February 2024.
Finnair is currently assessing the extent of the
impact of the industrial action on flights, but it is
already clear that the strike will have a
significant impact on the airline's operations, and will result in
flight cancellations.
Finnair has approximately 60,000 customers
whose travel plans may be affected by the strike.
The airline has not yet made any changes to its
traffic program for those two days, but is already offering customers the
opportunity to change their flight to another Finnair flight so
that the flight does not fall on either of the two strike days.
Customers who have a
booking between 31 January and 3 February can choose to travel
earlier or postpone their travel so that the travel date is no
later than 15 March 2024.
If the customer’s ticket type allows
changes, they can change travel dates via Manage Booking on Finnair’s website. If the customer’s ticket type does not allow
changes, the change to the travel date can be made by contacting
the travel agency that booked the ticket or Finnair Customer Care.
If the
customer has not changed their flight date and the flight has to
be cancelled, Finnair will offer customers a new route to the
destination.
"It is clear that the strike will cause flight
cancellations, and we hope that as many customers as possible will
find a suitable replacement flight well in advance and thus can
avoid uncertainty in their travel plans," said Jari Paajanen, Vice
President, Operations Control at Finnair. "We also ask customers
to be patient, as our customer service may become congested due to
the situation."
It is likely that there will be disruptions in
ground services, baggage handling and food and beverage catering
for flights during the strike days. The political strike is also
likely to be visible in traffic on the days following the strike,
as the scheduled
return of a cancelled flight may take place on the following
days.
"We are very sorry that political industrial
action unrelated to Finnair is disrupting our customers' business
and leisure travel plans. There are also many foreign tourists in
Finland, and the situation inevitably affects the image they have
of Finland," Paajanen added.
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