Finnair passenger numbers fluctuate as carrier grapples with proximity to Russia

Finnair carried 750,800 passengers in November 2022,  54.2% more than in the same month the year before but down 13.4% on October 2022. The Helsinki-based carrier said the month-on-month drop was in part due to a strike that resulted in around 100 flights being cancelled. The closure of Russian airspace affected Finnair connections to Asia, which ordinarily would cross the vast airspace of Finland’s giant eastern neighbour, which stretches across 11 time zones. “The Russian airspace closed at the end of February due to the counter sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, which resulted in route and frequency cancellations