European air travellers faced another bout of weekend uncertainty on 30 November 2025, as a combination of winter weather fronts and crew-rostering shortfalls led to 23 flight cancellations and 85 significant delays across several carriers.
For Finland-based passengers, the biggest impact was felt at Helsinki-Vantaa, where Finnair scrubbed regional rotations to Ivalo and Vilnius and warned of tighter airport congestion through Sunday evening. The airline cited de-icing bottlenecks and short-notice sick-calls among ground-handling staff.
![Weather and Staffing Woes Force Fresh Wave of Finnair Cancellations Across Europe]()
Although most disrupted customers were rebooked within the day, travel-management companies reported difficulty finding spare seats on north-bound services, given peak leisure demand for Lapland. Business travellers heading to continental hubs such as Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and London Heathrow were advised to activate “book-and-hold” options or shift meetings online.
The episode highlights an uncomfortable reality for corporate mobility planners: even as major European airports upgrade snow-clearing capacity, thinner post-pandemic staffing rosters leave little slack when operations come under stress. Employers with time-sensitive assignments are urged to budget for last-minute hotel stays and to remind staff of EU261 compensation eligibility for cancellations within the carrier’s control.
Finnair says it expects to operate a full schedule on Monday but will continue to monitor crew availability and runway-condition forecasts. It is also liaising with Finavia to prioritise de-icing slots for its long-haul Asian departures, which carry a high proportion of connecting business traffic.
For Finland-based passengers, the biggest impact was felt at Helsinki-Vantaa, where Finnair scrubbed regional rotations to Ivalo and Vilnius and warned of tighter airport congestion through Sunday evening. The airline cited de-icing bottlenecks and short-notice sick-calls among ground-handling staff.
Although most disrupted customers were rebooked within the day, travel-management companies reported difficulty finding spare seats on north-bound services, given peak leisure demand for Lapland. Business travellers heading to continental hubs such as Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and London Heathrow were advised to activate “book-and-hold” options or shift meetings online.
The episode highlights an uncomfortable reality for corporate mobility planners: even as major European airports upgrade snow-clearing capacity, thinner post-pandemic staffing rosters leave little slack when operations come under stress. Employers with time-sensitive assignments are urged to budget for last-minute hotel stays and to remind staff of EU261 compensation eligibility for cancellations within the carrier’s control.
Finnair says it expects to operate a full schedule on Monday but will continue to monitor crew availability and runway-condition forecasts. It is also liaising with Finavia to prioritise de-icing slots for its long-haul Asian departures, which carry a high proportion of connecting business traffic.
