Finnair Cancels Majority Flights June 17 & 19, 2025 + Spillover To Other Dates

Finnair has faced work actions and strikes by its various employee groups since late 2025, that has led to thousands of cancelled flights and hundreds of thousands of inconvenienced passengers.

There have been several partial strike days by Finnair’s ground employees since last month (three just ended), and three more dates have been announced for this month: June 11, 17, and 19, 2025.

You can access Finnair here.

These ground employee rolling strikes have typically cancelled 50 to 110 flights on the dates they have taken place, but Finnair has announced that the effect on June 17 and 19 is far more significant.

The airline now expects to cancel the majority of its flights on June 17 and 19, 2025, and there will be a spillover effect on other dates as well, when airplanes and crews are out of their usual rotations.

Finnair will process cancellations two days prior to the strike date, and affected passengers will receive information about their rebooked itinerary via email or SMS.

These strikes have also previously affected Finnair’s short-haul catering, which has been non-existent beyond water and cookies around these dates.

Finnair has now instituted a flexible rebooking policy. Passengers traveling on strike dates can rebook without fees through August 31, 2025.

Note that you lose your EC 261/2004 Air Passenger Rights protection if you voluntarily rebook BEFORE your flight is cancelled.

Finnair will attempt to rebook affected passengers to their final destination on these strike dates by utilizing other airlines.

You don’t have to accept Finnair’s rebooking option and can contact them to see if better options exist (check what is available before you contact). It may, however, be challenging to reach Finnair’s contact centers, as tens of thousands of passengers are expected to be affected on these dates.

Affected passengers are eligible for Duty to Care. Finnair is responsible for providing accommodation and meals in case of long delays. They are also required to pay compensation if your rebooked flight departs earlier or if you arrive significantly later at your destination.

Finnair’s Travel Disruption Information:

• 11 June: The effects on this day’s flights are minor, and we aim to operate the flights as scheduled. Any potential cancellations will be confirmed and communicated directly to affected customers 2 days before the flight, on Monday 9 June 2025.
• 17 June: Unfortunately, the effects on this day will be significant. The cancellations will be confirmed and communicated directly to affected customers 2 days before the flight, on Sunday 15 June 2025.
• 19 June: Unfortunately, the effects on this day will be significant. The cancellations will be confirmed and communicated directly to affected customers 2 days before the flight, on Tuesday 17 June 2025.

Travel Rebooking Guidance:

Your options if you are travelling on 11, 17 and 19 June 2025

If you wish, you can change your travel date flexibly up to the day of departure by contacting our customer service. You can postpone your journey to start no later than 31 August 2025 at no extra cost. For tickets purchased through other service providers than Finnair, such as a travel agency, please contact the ticket issuer directly. Please note that our customer service may be busier than usual at times. Thank you for your patience.

Finnair’s EC 261/2004 Notice:

Download (PDF, 135KB)

Conclusion

This round of contract negotiations with Finnair and its various employee groups has been more challenging than I can ever recall happening in the past.

Partially, the reason behind this is that employees feel their wage progress was stalled during and immediately after the pandemic, when inflation was rampant but wages remained stagnant. Now, they would like to recoup the difference, which appears to be challenging.

Passengers scheduled to fly on Finnair on June 17 and 19 should monitor their itineraries and plan for possible delays and/or rebooking that may result in a delayed arrival at their destination.

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