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UK flights suspended

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 22.12.2020 14.57 | Published in English on 23.12.2020 at 11.00
News item

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom has decided to suspend air passenger flights from the UK to Finland for two weeks from 21 December 2020 until 4 January 2021.

Due to the decision, many travellers’ return to Finland will be difficult or prevented altogether.

The Finnish Embassy in London and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are monitoring the situation closely. Travellers are again required to be resilient and able to deal with uncertainty. Because of the pandemic, the situation may deteriorate abruptly and unpredictably in any country or region.

Therefore and in line with the Government policy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ recommendation to travellers since last spring has been to avoid non-essential travel abroad. 

Traficom decided to ban flights to prevent the spread of the new variant of coronavirus to Finland. The ban applies to all flights, including repatriation flights.  In the early phases of the pandemic in the spring, the Government decided to organise repatriation flights because air traffic was suddenly suspended all over the world. Now that people have been aware of the situation and the consequent travel recommendations for a long time, we are not planning repatriation flights. 

Travellers should primarily sort out their possibilities to return to Finland independently but, at present, it may be difficult to find any connections. Many travellers may have to stay at their travel destination until passenger airlines resume their regular operations.

In case Traficom decides to amend its decision based on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s recommendation and Finnish travellers in the UK will be able to return home, commercial connections would be the preferred option.

The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has only limited capabilities to assist people in distress abroad during the pandemic. The Finnish Embassy in London is updating information on its website and social media channels. We recommend that you submit your travel plans and contact details at matkustusilmoitus.fi

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommends that all those who arrived in Finland from the UK on 7 December 2020 or who has arrived after that get tested even if they had no symptoms of a coronavirus infection. Testing is conducted to ensure that the new coronavirus variant will not spread in Finland through asymptomatic persons infected with coronavirus. The recommendation to get tested for coronavirus applies also to persons who have already been tested once or twice after returning to Finland from the UK.

For any possible expenses caused by cancellation or postponement of flights, contact your travel organiser, airline or insurance company.
 

 
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