According to Finnair, the negotiations concern 2,800 pilots and cabin crew members.
Finnair says it is starting change talks over the closure of Russian airspace. According to the company, the closure of Russian airspace will cause significant changes to its traffic.
“Finnair has today invited personnel representatives to change negotiations in accordance with the Co-operation Act for layoffs of up to 90 days, which, if implemented, would affect cabin and cabin service personnel. The estimated need for additional monthly leave from April onwards would be 90-220 pilots and 150-450 cabin crew members, ”the company writes in a statement.
According to the company, the final layoff need will be resolved once it is known how the emergency situation will develop.
The negotiations cover all 2,800 commercial pilots and cabin crew members in Finland, the company says.
According to the company, which is mainly owned by the state, it is possible that the Russian blockade will also affect Finnair’s personnel outside Finland in those locations where the workload is expected to decrease significantly.
Russia closed its airspace from Finnish aircraft on Monday. The closure is valid until May 28th. Finnair has canceled its flights to Russia until that day.
“We have clearly fewer flights than planned, and therefore unfortunately less work will be available in the coming months,” says Jaakko Schildt, Finnair’s Chief Operating Officer, in the company’s press release.
“A large proportion of our staff have been laid off for a long time during the pandemic, so the need for new layoffs now feels particularly heavy, which we regret.”
Russian The airspace block is a big blow to Finnair, as the cornerstone of Finnair’s strategy has been its geographical location. Finland’s location has enabled the fastest connections in the growing air market between Asia and Europe. The fastest route to Asia has been through Russia.
Finnair said on Wednesday that it will start flights to Tokyo next week with a new routing that will circumnavigate Russian airspace. The flight time will increase by about three hours to an estimated 13 hours.
The new route runs from Helsinki to Tokyo depending on the wind, either the southern or the northern route.
“Japan is one of our most important markets. There is also a lot of air cargo between Japan and Helsinki, and the continuation of air connections is important, ”said Ole Orvér, Finnair’s Commercial Director, in a press release published on Wednesday.
Last Sunday, Finnair canceled its flights to Japan, China and South Korea for a week. With the decision, the company anticipates the closure of Russian airspace.
The airline is currently assessing whether some of the flights to China and Korea could be flown on a different route. The company is also preparing an alternative network and traffic plan in case the situation continues.
State The 56 percent-owned company’s share has suffered severely from Russia’s widespread war in Ukraine a week ago.
A few days after the start of the war, a third of Finnair’s value disappeared, or just under EUR 280 million.
On Tuesday, Finnair’s share price started to rise, and on Wednesday’s stock exchange opening, Finnair’s share will rise by about 8 per cent.
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