Finnair has already replaced its mid-day flights from these cities with bus connections and will end the routes completely from 1st May this year. tally sustainable option for connecting these cities to Finnair’s Helsinki hub.
Perttu Jolma, Vice President, Network said: "The flights to Tampere and Turku are very short, and the relatively low passenger numbers – around 35 percent load factors – on these routes cause them to have a higher CO2 emission per passenger than many other short routes in our network. - Road, or rail, transportation is a more sustainable option for connections between Helsinki Airport and these cities."
"We understand that this decision disappoints customers who have used the flights, and we regret the inconvenience this causes them. We must, however, take both economic and environmental considerations into account,” Jolma says.
The scheduled flight time to Turku and Tampere is 35 minutes and the carrier says that most customers arriving at Helsinki Airport for Finnair flights, for example, from the Tampere region, already come by bus, train, or car. This was already the case before the covid-19 pandemic: 70 percent of Finnair Plus members with home addresses in Tampere started their flights from Helsinki Airport rather than from Tampere, despite the several daily flights available.
During the summer of 2023, Finnair will operate four bus services per day between Turku and Helsinki Airport and four bus services per day between Tampere and Helsinki Airport. As of May 8, these routes start from the central bus stations of Turku and Tampere.
Customers with bookings for the Turku and Tampere routes can only get a refund if they cancel their bookings, no reduction or part refund will be granted if they take the bus option. Normal ticket rules also apply.
airBaltic is rapidly expanding its operations from Tampere with direct flights to 9 destinations and many more via its Riga home base.