Lost business ground: Finnair may be sold due to the closed skies of Russia

Finland's national carrier Finnair may be sold due to the closed airspace of Russia. It is reported by Avia News with reference to local media.

Finnair, according to the Finnish press, is in a difficult situation: due to the closed Russian airspace, it has lost its transit route to Asia, and updating the aging fleet requires money that the company does not have.

Finnair's business model was built on offering a fast connection between Europe and Asia via Russia, but now this advantage has been lost, experts say. Long-haul aircraft are idle, and the age of the narrow-body fleet is 20 years or more. Finnair does not have the resources to expand or upgrade its fleet. If no solutions are found, its reduction is inevitable. At the same time, the airline's debts are four times its value, and losses from the recent staff strike are estimated at more than 40 million euros.

"Since the opening of Russian airspace to European airlines is not expected in the foreseeable future, Finnair will have to begin to shrink significantly," Avia News writes.

The owner of the controlling stake is the state, and he will have to choose between large-scale financial support or a reduction in the share. The Finnish government, in principle, can pour additional funds into the carrier, it is unlikely in the face of rising defense spending.

Earlier, Finnair warned that it would cancel about 110 flights on Friday, May 30, due to strikes at Helsinki airport. Cancellations may affect about 8 thousand passengers, the company said in a statement.

Strikes are also expected next Monday and Wednesday. Finnair said that they continue to assess the consequences for flights on these two days, but warned of a high probability of schedule disruptions, Interfax reported.