The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) has asked the Market Court to levy a €7.6 million administrative fine on Finnair, alleging that the flag carrier supplied “inaccurate, partial and misleading” information during a 2023–24 investigation into whether the airline blocked online travel agencies from displaying discounted fares. If confirmed, this would be the first sanction imposed in Finland solely for procedural misconduct in an antitrust inquiry.
KKV says Finnair sent four deficient data submissions last autumn, forcing regulators to conduct an unannounced dawn raid at the airline’s Vantaa headquarters in spring 2024. Documents recovered during the raid allegedly show an internal policy of instructing OTAs to hide certain low-cost inventory, a practice Finnair had already promised Sweden’s competition authority it would stop. The proposed fine equals roughly 0.25 % of the carrier’s 2024 revenue but could rise to 1 % if the court deems the obstruction severe.
![Finnair Faces €7.6 Million Fine for Obstructing Competition Probe into Online Fare Restrictions]()
For mobility managers and corporate-travel buyers, the case matters on two fronts. First, an eventual fine could pressure Finnair—already coping with high fuel prices and route-network realignments after Russian air-space closures—to recoup costs through higher base fares or ancillary fees. Second, if regulators confirm that fare-display restrictions existed, OTAs may push for greater pricing transparency, potentially widening the pool of discounted tickets available to multinational travel programs.
Finnair denies wrongdoing, stating that any discrepancies stem from “misunderstandings” and that it ended all agency-pricing constraints after signing Swedish undertakings in 2023. The carrier argues that the Finnish probe duplicates those commitments and that the fine is disproportionate.
Market-Court proceedings typically last six to nine months; a ruling is expected by mid-2026. Travel-policy teams should monitor the outcome, as a confirmed violation could prompt similar investigations elsewhere in Europe and accelerate a shift toward direct-connect distribution models that bypass GDS-based fare filing.
KKV says Finnair sent four deficient data submissions last autumn, forcing regulators to conduct an unannounced dawn raid at the airline’s Vantaa headquarters in spring 2024. Documents recovered during the raid allegedly show an internal policy of instructing OTAs to hide certain low-cost inventory, a practice Finnair had already promised Sweden’s competition authority it would stop. The proposed fine equals roughly 0.25 % of the carrier’s 2024 revenue but could rise to 1 % if the court deems the obstruction severe.
For mobility managers and corporate-travel buyers, the case matters on two fronts. First, an eventual fine could pressure Finnair—already coping with high fuel prices and route-network realignments after Russian air-space closures—to recoup costs through higher base fares or ancillary fees. Second, if regulators confirm that fare-display restrictions existed, OTAs may push for greater pricing transparency, potentially widening the pool of discounted tickets available to multinational travel programs.
Finnair denies wrongdoing, stating that any discrepancies stem from “misunderstandings” and that it ended all agency-pricing constraints after signing Swedish undertakings in 2023. The carrier argues that the Finnish probe duplicates those commitments and that the fine is disproportionate.
Market-Court proceedings typically last six to nine months; a ruling is expected by mid-2026. Travel-policy teams should monitor the outcome, as a confirmed violation could prompt similar investigations elsewhere in Europe and accelerate a shift toward direct-connect distribution models that bypass GDS-based fare filing.
