Finnair to Cut 200 Jobs Following Closure of Russian Airspace

Finnair CEO Topi Manner has admitted that the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's closed airspace in response to the EU's sanctions have “impacted business significantly,” prompting the airline, still reeling from the pandemic, to resort to measures that are “painful” for employees.

National flag carrier Finnair has launched redundancy talks in order to pink-slip some 200 jobs, including 120 in Finland itself, the airline said in a statement.

According to Finnair, staff trimming is part of the new strategy announced earlier in September, aimed at restoring the airline's profitability. Earlier, its revenues were badly damaged by the double blow of the COVID-19 pandemic, when massive lockdowns across the world slowed international air traffic to a trickle, and Russia's special operation in Ukraine. Moscow responded in kind to Western sanctions that included a closure of airspace for flights from Russia. The ban affected Finnair badly, as the flag carrier lost its competitive edge on lucrative Asian routes.

Finnair CEO Topi Manner admitted that the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's closed airspace “impacted business significantly,” prompting the airline to resort to measures that are “painful for employees.”

The airline also said it will be operating “with a smaller capacity”, citing “changes in operating environment.”

So far, redundancy talks will involve about 770 employees in executive, managerial and expert roles and won't cover crews or other operative employees. Overall, Finnair has some 5,300 employees worldwide.

At the beginning of September, CEO Geir Karlsen of Finnair's rival Norwegian Airlines stressed that air traffic was rebounding more slowly in Finland than in its Nordic peers.

Earlier this year, Finnish Customs said that the effect of the EU's sanctions against Moscow, meant as “punishment” for the special operation in Ukraine, had done more damage to trade between Finland and Russia than the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the post-Soviet era, cross-border cooperation and tourism from Russia have become the backbone of the economy in many communities in eastern Finland, with a plethora of border towns relying on Russian shoppers for income. However, the self-imposed restrictions robbed the Finnish communities of millions of euros in lost revenues.