Major airline strike could spread to 21 more airports as 8,000 passengers grounded

A major airport threatens to spread to other travel hubs this summer, impacting tens of thousands of British holidaymakers.

On Friday, cancelled 110 flights, affecting 8,000 customers, on the first day of a three-day strike. Today is the second day of action, with a further strike due on June 4. Workers in the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) have targeted Helsinki Airport in Finland's seventh aviation strike in less than a month.

When workers walked out on May 30, alternative travel options spiked. Ferry fares from Tallinn to Helsinki rose 100-130% within 48 hours, reaching £150-£200 one-way, per FerryScan data. Helsinki Airbnb rates jumped 40-50% (£120-£180/night from £80-£120), Hotels.com trends suggested, while train fares from Stockholm to Helsinki increased 30-40%, according to Omio.

Finnair has been rerouting long-haul flights via Stockholm and Budapest due to strike-related fuel shortages at Helsinki Airport, causing multi-hour delays on routes to Tokyo, Bangkok, and New York. These changes are especially disruptive for UK–Asia passengers.

Have you been impacted by the strikes? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

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June 2’s strike will see flights rerouted via Frankfurt and Amsterdam, likely causing one to three-hour delays for 1,500-2,000 daily passengers.

A potentially bigger issue is now looming on the horizon. If IAU-PALTA talks remain stalled, the IAU may expand strikes to all 21 Finavia-operated airports, which include Rovaniemi, Oulu and Kuopio, in the upcoming days. This could disrupt 20-30% of Finland’s 2,000 daily flights, meaning as many as 60,000 passengers impacted. Each week 20,000 UK travellers could be affected if such a strike were to rumble on.

Later this month, IAU may shift to short two—to three-hour strikes targeting high-traffic weekends such as June 14-15, 21-22, and 28-29, disrupting 50-100 daily flights at Helsinki Airport.

Passengers concerned about being caught up in the travel disruption can buy strike-cover insurance for as little as £20, use websites such as FlightRadar24 for real-time flight tracking, and avoid Helsinki connections by taking other routes such as vua Stockholm.

Anton Radchenko, found of , said: “This is no longer a strike story, it’s a system failure story. Helsinki has now had more strikes in 30 days than most countries have in a year. This represents something far more serious than a few cancelled flights: they signal a system on the brink. Helsinki Airport, once considered one of the smoothest hubs in Europe, is now suffering from chronic unpredictability. For UK passengers, this isn’t just about Finland, it’s about how a local dispute can derail an entire travel experience across Europe."

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The IAU, which represents ground handling, baggage, catering, maintenance, and customer service staff, has called the strikes over pay disputes with PALTA. According to the IAU, the average earnings of Finnair Group employees increased by 6.4 percent between 2020 and 2023. During that same period, the national average increase across all sectors was 10.4 percent.

PALTA, the employers’ association, insists most workers seemed willing to agree to the mediator’s suggested pay rises, as reported by Helsinki Times. However, they claim the IAU are pushing for increases exceeding what has been proposed to others.

On Friday a representative for Finnair told the Mirror: " As industrial action cause significant disruptions to the operation of flights, Finnair have canceled approximately 110 flights today, on Friday 30 May. We have contacted our customers directly about today’s cancellations already during last Wednesday and majority of the customers whose flights were cancelled are able to travel today.

"We are deeply sorry that our customers' important travel plans were disrupted."