As a result of air space closure due to the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland, Finnair had to cancel over 1,700 flights in the last week, disrupting the travel of over 140,000 passengers. The cessation of traffic for the week and the process of recommencing it are estimated to cause a loss of 20 million Euros to the company. The losses include the costs of stranded passengers' accommodation as from yesterday.
However, Finnair opposes compensation of losses to airlines by European Union commission-approved subsidies.
"Companies in a weaker economic condition are making strong demands for help. A subsidy stampede would distort competition, because the risk of airlines using the system for wider support would be great. We are already seeing support that contravenes the EU's state-aid rules," says Mika Vehviläinen, Finnair's CEO.
According to EU air services regulation, in order to maintain their operating licences, airlines must at all times be able to meet their actual and potential financial obligations for the next 12-month period.
"We presume that the authorities will check immediately if the companies demanding support fulfil the conditions of their operating licenses. The cessation of operations for a week should not destabilize the solvency of a company that meets the EU requirements," Vehviläinen continues.
"The EU commission has made unreasonable demands on airlines in areas where the responsibility in fact should rest on member states, but at the same time has paid scant regard to the fulfilment of operating license requirements and been sympathetic to subsidizing potentially non-compliant airlines in these circumstances. For future and comparable situations, there should be guidelines that are clear and appropriate for both customers and airlines," Vehviläinen states.
Finnair is the Fast Airline from Europe to Asia; offering some of the best transit and flight times to 9 cities in China, Japan, India, South Korea and Thailand.
Finnair fly twice daily from Manchester airport and four times daily from Heathrow in the UK via Helsinki to the Far East.