Finnair will start flying again from Dublin in July, gradually adding frequencies and routes back to its global network, as the Nordic airline returns to service.
The Finnish flag carrier will review its schedule on a monthly basis and update it as travel restrictions are eased and demand starts to recover.
From April through to June, Finnair will have been operating at five per cent of its normal capacity, maintaining critical air connections for Finland.
From July Finnair will resume services with four flights a week from Dublin to connect Ireland to the rest of the Finnair network as flights are gradually restarted. By September, flights from Dublin will be back to offering customers a daily service to Helsinki.
Ole Orvér, Finnair Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We expect aviation to recover gradually, starting in July. Our intention is to operate approximately thirty percent of our normal flights in July, and we will also start long-haul flights to our key Asian destinations. We will then add routes and frequencies month by month as demand recovers.
“Our recent customer survey shows that customers are already planning both business and leisure trips. We want to meet this demand with our network offering.”
The move will see the airline significantly ramping up its passenger operations, following a prolonged period of focusing on the demand for cargo flights, transporting critical supplies around the world as part of the COVID-19 relief effort.
Finnair will flexibly add flights as demand develops and keep all fleet movements constantly under review. The flight schedule will also take into account the changes in travel restrictions in different countries.
Long-haul operations start from Asia
Finnair’s long-haul operations will commence in phases from July, with a strong focus on Asia, which is strategically important for Finnair. The airline will fly to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai in Greater China (subject to government approval); to Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo Narita in Japan; and to Singapore, Seoul and Bangkok.
Long-haul operations are supported by cargo demand. In August, Finnair will restart flights to Delhi and New York, and in November to Tokyo Haneda airport. Finnair also has flights to Miami, Krabi and Phuket planned during the winter holiday season.
European operations serve key cities
On European routes, Finnair will first focus on key centres, and in July will resume flying to Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Malaga, Manchester, Moscow, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Tallinn, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Vilnius, Vienna and Zürich.
In August Finnair will resume flights to Barcelona, Milan, Madrid, Rome and Warsaw. During the summer holiday season Finnair will also operate individual flights to some key holiday destinations in southern Europe.
Domestic flying maintains key air connections
In July, Finnair will operate six domestic routes in Finland, flying to Kuopio, Mariehamn, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Turku and Vaasa. In August, it will restart flights to Ivalo and Kittilä in Finnish Lapland, and in September operations recommence to Kuusamo and Tampere.
For commercial reasons, Finnair will not fly to Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kemi or Kokkola during summer 2020. Decisions on these five destinations for the winter 2020/2021 season will be made in due course, dependent upon demand.
Flexibility for customers
Since March, Finnair has offered its customers extraordinary flexibility to change travel dates, and this will continue until the end of June. Customers can change the travel dates for all flights bought from Finnair’s own channels, including finnair.com, made between 1 April 2020 and 30 June, with flexibility for 12 months.
As the airline publishes its flying schedule from July 2020 to the end of March 2021, it will also cancel those flights which will not be operating. Finnair will handle flight cancellations in phases and affected customers will be contacted over the coming weeks.
A list of flights where Finnair will not operate during summer 2020 and winter 2020/2021 is available on the Travel Updates page on finnair.com:
- If a customer’s flight is cancelled, but Finnair is still operating to the destination, Finnair will automatically offer an alternative flight
- Customers can seek a refund for any cancelled flights
- If a customer wishes to change their travel date, they can do so on finnair.com
- Travel dates can be changed for 12 months for flights bought from Finnair’s own channels, including finnair.com, made after April 1, 2020.
