Finnair faces wipeout of Asia business on flight bans

Finland’s national carrier has carved out a niche providing transit passengers from smaller European cities the shortest flight times to Asia. But the flights through its Helsinki hub to destinations like Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai rely on access to Siberian airspace. It won’t make financial sense to operate those flights if Russia’s airspace is closed, Finnair said yesterday.

HELSINKI: Finnair Oyj faces a wipeout of its Asian traffic as a tit-for-tat of airspace closures in Europe and Russia jeopardises its main long-haul strategy.

Finland’s national carrier has carved out a niche providing transit passengers from smaller European cities the shortest flight times to Asia. But the flights through its Helsinki hub to destinations like Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai rely on access to Siberian airspace.