Finnair Forced to Cut Flights to London, Frankfurt Over Staff Shortages

HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Finnair, amid a shortage of staff at the airports in Frankfurt and London, is reducing the number of flights to these cities, Marika Kortesalmi, a spokeswoman for the carrier, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Finnair, among other airlines, under the threat of legal action from London Heathrow Airport, is required to limit the number of customers departing from Heathrow Airport due to heavy congestion at peak times. Finnair is unfortunately forced to reduce flight capacity on 15-24 July and cancel some of our customers’ bookings on London-Helsinki flights on 20-24 July," Kortesalmi said.

In addition, due to restrictions imposed by London's Heathrow Airport, it is currently impossible to book new London-Helsinki flights until September 11, the company's representative said.

According to Kortesalmi, similar measures are taken at Frankfurt Airport, where in mid-July they limited the capacity of the air gate to 88 take-off and landing operations per hour.

On July 12, London's Heathrow airport imposed a cap on the number of passengers who can use the air harbor daily until September 11 and urged airlines to stop selling tickets for summer flights.

British airports and airlines have struggled to operate amid labor shortages following the country's exit from the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic, which had also affected airline operations globally. As a result, a huge number of jobs had to be cut in the face of border closures, which eventually led to significant disruptions in airport operations.