Business travellers landing in Finland this morning were greeted by departure boards awash with red. According to real-time data compiled by aviation analytics site FlightAware and first reported by Travel & Tour World, 19 flights were cancelled and a further 126 were delayed across the country’s four busiest airports—Helsinki-Vantaa, Rovaniemi, Turku and Oulu—between 00:00 and 10:00 local time on 7 February 2026.
Helsinki-Vantaa bore the brunt, accounting for 15 of the cancellations and 111 delays. Flag-carrier Finnair was the hardest-hit airline, scrubbing 11 services and suffering 83 delayed departures or arrivals. Scandinavian Airlines Ireland, CityJet, Norwegian Air Sweden, Ryanair, Wizz Air and KLM also reported significant knock-on effects, while Japan Airlines, Pegasus, SAS Link, Braathens Regional Airways and Air Baltic each registered individual delays or cancellations.
Airport operator Finavia blamed a perfect storm of factors: crew rotation bottlenecks carried over from last week’s cold-weather cancellations in Lapland, lingering de-icing queues after a fresh snow squall in southern Finland, and air-traffic-control staffing constraints linked to an ongoing overtime ban by the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU). Finavia’s Chief Operating Officer Mari Nurminen told reporters that extra ground-handling staff had been called in and that de-icing capacity at Helsinki had been boosted by 20 percent overnight, but warned that “irregular operations are likely to persist throughout the day.”
![Mass Flight Disruptions Hit Finland’s Major Airports, Triggering 145 Cancellations and Delays]()
For multinationals, the disruption comes at the worst possible time. Early February is Finland’s peak inbound season for winter-sports incentive trips, and Helsinki-Vantaa is also a critical hub for Europe-to-Asia itineraries. Corporate travel managers should advise assignees to monitor flight status apps, build longer layovers into Schengen connections, and keep receipts for meals and hotels; under EU261 rules, airlines must provide care and, in some cases, compensation when delays top three hours.
While travellers juggle rebookings and accommodation claims, many will also need to confirm that their travel documents still align with altered itineraries. VisaHQ’s online portal for Finland (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) can expedite or adjust Schengen visas at short notice, providing real-time status updates and alerts about entry requirements—particularly useful if last-minute diversions route passengers through other EU hubs.
Road and rail options remain available. VR’s high-speed Pendolino services between Helsinki and Tampere are running to timetable, and Finavia has waived change fees for passengers willing to rebook out of Rovaniemi or Kuopio tomorrow. Still, mobility planners should expect baggage backlogs and scattered crew positioning problems to ripple through Finnair’s network for at least another 48 hours.
Helsinki-Vantaa bore the brunt, accounting for 15 of the cancellations and 111 delays. Flag-carrier Finnair was the hardest-hit airline, scrubbing 11 services and suffering 83 delayed departures or arrivals. Scandinavian Airlines Ireland, CityJet, Norwegian Air Sweden, Ryanair, Wizz Air and KLM also reported significant knock-on effects, while Japan Airlines, Pegasus, SAS Link, Braathens Regional Airways and Air Baltic each registered individual delays or cancellations.
Airport operator Finavia blamed a perfect storm of factors: crew rotation bottlenecks carried over from last week’s cold-weather cancellations in Lapland, lingering de-icing queues after a fresh snow squall in southern Finland, and air-traffic-control staffing constraints linked to an ongoing overtime ban by the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU). Finavia’s Chief Operating Officer Mari Nurminen told reporters that extra ground-handling staff had been called in and that de-icing capacity at Helsinki had been boosted by 20 percent overnight, but warned that “irregular operations are likely to persist throughout the day.”
For multinationals, the disruption comes at the worst possible time. Early February is Finland’s peak inbound season for winter-sports incentive trips, and Helsinki-Vantaa is also a critical hub for Europe-to-Asia itineraries. Corporate travel managers should advise assignees to monitor flight status apps, build longer layovers into Schengen connections, and keep receipts for meals and hotels; under EU261 rules, airlines must provide care and, in some cases, compensation when delays top three hours.
While travellers juggle rebookings and accommodation claims, many will also need to confirm that their travel documents still align with altered itineraries. VisaHQ’s online portal for Finland (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) can expedite or adjust Schengen visas at short notice, providing real-time status updates and alerts about entry requirements—particularly useful if last-minute diversions route passengers through other EU hubs.
Road and rail options remain available. VR’s high-speed Pendolino services between Helsinki and Tampere are running to timetable, and Finavia has waived change fees for passengers willing to rebook out of Rovaniemi or Kuopio tomorrow. Still, mobility planners should expect baggage backlogs and scattered crew positioning problems to ripple through Finnair’s network for at least another 48 hours.
