Border control | Media: Finnair refused to take Russian passengers on a flight to Finland

Russian media have reported in recent days that some Russians have not been allowed on Finnair flights to Finland that they have already paid for.

For example Fontanka tells about a Russian man who was supposed to fly from Dubrovnik to Helsinki last Saturday. According to the Russian media, the man passed the passport check, but soon after he was informed that he would not be allowed to enter Finland.

According to Fontanka, the man was supposed to return from Finland by car to St. Petersburg, and he had a train ticket from St. Petersburg to Moscow for the next day.

In the same article, it is reported that five Russians were turned away during the baggage check-in phase from the Finnair flight from Düsseldorf to Helsinki on Sunday. According to the eyewitness interviewed by Fontanka, documents proving the residence permit or onward tickets to Russia were not asked to be seen.

The Government’s decision in principle to limit the entry of Russian citizens into Finland, which came into effect last Friday, prevents travel for tourism purposes to Finland or through Finland to EU or Schengen countries.

The return of Russian citizens to Russia via Finland has not been prevented.

Read more: Finland’s border will be closed to Russian tourists next night, with several exceptions to the decision

Finnair regarding communication, HS is told by email that Finnair does not comment on individual cases.

According to Finnair, they comply with the regulations of the Border Guard. The company is also in daily contact with the Border Guard regarding entry requirements.

“The passenger has an obligation to ensure that he meets the entry requirements. As an airline, we ensure at the departure gate at the latest that these conditions are met.”

As a carrier, Finnair can ask the passenger to explain, for example, the purpose of his trip or his routing, and ask the passenger to present documents supporting his explanation.

According to the email response, the number of customers who have been denied access to a Finnair flight after the travel restrictions came into effect has been small.

“The basis for denying boarding is failure to meet the entry requirements,” writes Finnair.

Border Guard there are indications that the airlines have been overly cautious in monitoring Russian passengers, says the deputy head of Helsinki’s border inspection department, captain lieutenant Petter Stauffer.

As a unit under the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard, the Helsinki Border Inspection Department is responsible for border inspections and other statutory duties of the Border Guard at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

“But there is no fact about overcaution. We rely on media information in the same way,” says Stauffer.

The Border Guard does not have exact data on how many Russian citizens have been denied access to flights to Finland at departure airports. Airlines do not have an inspection obligation regarding Russian entry restrictions, but some companies have started to monitor the restrictions.

“They are the airlines’ own decisions. In cases that do not involve, for example, false documents, the airlines don’t give us much information.”

According to Stauffer, the Border Guard has received individual contacts from Russian passengers about not being allowed to board a flight to Finland. Generally, however, passengers are already in contact before traveling.

“They want to make sure they have the right to travel.”

Also airlines are being asked by the Border Guard now who can be taken on flights to Finland. The Border Guard can give companies recommendations on whether it is worth taking a person on a flight.

According to Stauffer, in some cases the Finnish Border Guard Service has recommended the airline to leave the passenger off the flight.

A typical case is, for example, a Russian traveler who is going through Finland to meet relatives or family elsewhere in the Schengen area.

If it becomes clear at the border inspection at the Finnish end that the passenger’s entry requirements are not met, a decision will be drawn up for the passenger to deny entry.

In that case, the airline that transported the passenger to Finland is obliged to transport the passenger back to the country of departure or to another third country to which his entry is guaranteed.

According to Stauffer, there have only been individual denials of entry to Russian passengers at Helsinki-Vantaa airport every day.

to Helsinki-Vantaa Russian traffic passing through the airport currently mainly consists of passengers returning home to Russia.

The passenger must be able to prove that he is returning to Russia. However, the ways to do so are case-specific, says Stauffer.

“If a passenger comes to the border check, it’s enough for us that he has a car and can show it, or that he has a ticket for the bus that leaves in a couple of hours and goes to the border.”

Stauffer cannot comment further on airline inspection practices. He assumes that the requirements for proving the purpose or routing of the trip are similar to those of the Border Guard.

For example, someone returning to Russia by car may have a parking voucher with them.

“Or the passenger just over there tells about the return, and the check-in officer has to evaluate how reliable the report is.”

Stauffer has not heard of Russian passengers’ cars being left at Helsinki-Vantaa airport because the passenger was not allowed to board the flight to Finland. However, according to him, it is not excluded.

“It is possible if the airline happens to prevent access to the flight. But if the matter is inquired of by the Border Guard and it turns out that the car is really here and the passenger is going home, then he can board the flight.”

“Probably, over the weeks, it will become clear if there are abandoned cars. At the moment, I don’t know for a fact that there are such cases.”

Read more: The arrival of Russians fell on Friday compared to a week ago

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