Finnair is temporarily suspending its flights between Helsinki and Chongqing from January 11, 2017 to May 2, 2017, as part of the airline's measures to create adequate room for pilot training for its A350 operations. Finnair is preparing to grow its operations as the deliveries of Airbus A350 aircraft will continue in 2017, and this requires Airbus A350 training for Finnair's A330 pilots. During the trainings, the pilots are away from normal flight duties, and this puts a temporary strain on Finnair's pilot resources.

All Finnair customers with tickets on the flights that are affected by this temporary measure will be contacted by Finnair or their travel agency to offer a suitable rerouting, change of travel date or alternatively, a refund of the ticket price.

"We apologize for the disruption this is causing to our customers' travel plans, and will do our very best to find a suitable solution for each passenger, during this temporary period when we do not operate to Chongqing," says Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer at Finnair.

Finnair will resume flights from Helsinki to Chongqing on May 3, 2017, returning to normal year-round operations. Other measures to adjust the traffic program to accommodate for the A350 trainings include a two month wet lease on Finnair's New York route which was announced last week and a cancellation of some of Finnair's flights to Nagoya in the spring of 2017.

Contributed by Finnair