British Airways

The Finnish Aviation Union has announced three strikes among workers at Helsinki Airport over the coming weeks, with Finnair the airline most impacted by the industrial action

Finnair has grounded 110 flights, impacting 8,000 customers, on a single day of a three-day strike.

Brits flying to Finland are facing travel chaos yet again, as the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) has announced three fresh strikes on May 30, June 2, and June 4 at Helsinki Airport. This is Finland’s seventh aviation strike in under a month.

The industrial action is predicted to impact just shy of 30 UK flights across the three days. As the summer getaway kicks off, this latest wave of strikes will have ripple effects across Europe. The IAU, representing ground handling, baggage, catering, maintenance, and customer service staff, will strike over wage disputes with PALTA in 4-hour staggered shifts, leading to full-day disruptions.

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According to the IAU, the average earnings of Finnair Group employees rose by 6.4 percent between 2020 and 2023. During that same period the national average increase across all sectors was 10.4 percent.

The strikes are designed to maximise disruption, with union officials organising the walkouts at strategic times across a six-day window. The result is a wave of residual disruption: cancelled flights one day, incomplete baggage delivery the next, and last-minute rerouting throughout.

Palta, which represents employers, has argued that most employee groups were ready to accept the mediator’s proposed increases, Helsinki Times reports. It has said that the IAU is demanding adjustments beyond what others have asked for.

The cancelled direct flights from the UK will see nearly 5,400 passengers affected. Since Helsinki is a direct transit hub for Brits flying to Asia, the Baltics and Northern Finland. According to Air Advisor, 11,400 UK passengers will be affected.

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Key UK routes likely to be impacted include London Heathrow to Helsinki, Manchester to Helsinki, and Edinburgh to Helsinki.

The IAU strikes are not the only ones impacting European aviation customers this week. The May 30 to June 4 strikes align with Italy’s May 28 aircrew/taxi strikes, creating a rare “Nordic-Mediterranean Disruption Corridor”, disrupting Helsinki, Milan, and Rome hubs. This will strain Frankfurt and Amsterdam connections, adding excessive pressure on these hubs.

Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder of AirAdvisor, 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.

“The most worrying aspect is the deliberate spread of these strikes. By placing them days apart, IAU is stretching airline operations beyond recovery: think of aircraft out of position, bags not making it to destinations, and crew timing out. It matters because this kind of disruption doesn’t stay in Finland; it ripples across hubs like London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, making it even more chaotic.”

Affected passengers should check the airline’s website and mobile app for alternative flight options and manage their bookings accordingly. Finnair has told impacted customers that they will be supported with rebooking options to minimize inconvenience.

Finnair has been contacted for comment.

Jonathan Arthur, 34, and wife Xun Sun, 35, were flying from Shanghai Pudong Airport to London Heathrow for a family wedding when they were told they couldn’t board their British Airways flight

A family was barred from their flight due to suspicions over insect bites on their toddler’s leg.

Jonathan Arthur, 34, and his wife Xun Sun, 35, were travelling from Shanghai Pudong Airport to London Heathrow for a family wedding when they noticed some insect bites on their one-year-old son Joseph.

Upon clocking the bites, they asked British Airways staff at the desk where they could purchase some allergy medication as a precaution.

The couple alleges that the check-in desk assistant called a medical advice hotline who advised them not to board the flight, fearing that the rash around the bites might be a reaction to Joseph’s mild peanut allergy which could worsen during the flight.

The airline staff insisted that the child needed a ‘fit to fly’ letter from a doctor and escorted the family away from the boarding gate, making them feel like criminals.

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After being turned away, they spent the entire day at the airport before re-booking flights with another airline, which didn’t require a letter, for that evening.

The bites, no larger than 1cm in diameter, vanished within 10-15 minutes of applying a bite cream and caused no further discomfort to the child, the parents claimed.

Jonathan, a marketing and sales professional from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, currently working in Hangzhou, said: “It was nothing more than swollen bites.”

He added: “At the desk they asked loads of questions after they saw the bites and so we told them about his mild peanut allergy.

“The medical staff at the airport said to apply some ointment and wait 10 minutes – which we were happy to do. But the BA staff said we needed to call their medical advice line.

“They thought his peanut allergy was the cause – so they didn’t want to take the risk. His bites were actually going down by this point, and my son was completely fine. But as we were speaking, staff were already unloading our suitcases. We were treated like we had done something wrong.”

The dual-nationality family had booked return flights at a cost of £3,000 two weeks prior, with the intention to fly back on May 1 for a family wedding on May 3.

Upon discovering four itchy welts surrounded by a pinkish rash and slight swelling on their son’s legs, back and arms during their holiday, parents sought online medical advice.

An e-doctor confirmed that the marks were indeed bites and suggested purchasing antihistamines to reduce the inflammation.

Before heading to the departure gate, the couple queried if they could purchase these medications at an airport pharmacy.

However, the sight of the marks and the mention of medicine linked to allergies prompted the boarding gate staff to summon the airport’s medical personnel and to consult BA’s medical hotline.

Jonathan explained: “The bites just came out red because of the heat, and because he had a nappy on rubbing against them.”

The family hypothesised that their son’s reaction might have been caused by bedbugs or mosquito bites at their accommodation and simply planned to acquire some allergy relief as a precaution.

Jonathan revealed that the airport’s on-site medical team, who were not BA employees, asked if they had any bite cream in their luggage – which they did – and instructed them to use it.

He stated that they informed him that if the bites began to subside within ten minutes, they would be cleared for flight – however, he alleges that a BA medical adviser over the phone vetoed this.

Despite arguing that the bites and rashes were unrelated to his mild peanut allergy, Jonathan and Xun were informed they could not board without a fit-to-fly certificate.

Jonathan said: “BA simply told us we couldn’t fly, gave us a case number and someone to contact about a fit-to-fly letter. We knew the rash had nothing to do with the peanut allergy – the bite was already subsiding after we applied the bite cream.”

They are now liaising with BA and their third-party booking agency to seek a refund. Jonathan expressed: “We felt like criminals – as if we had done something wrong.

“I find it odd that someone else in a different country can speak to an airport staff member who isn’t a medical professional, diagnose and refuse boarding, without seeing the rash.

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“When you pay for a service you expect to be treated like a customer, not like a nuisance.It felt like they thought ‘they’re not flying, just get rid of them’.”

A spokesperson for BA commented: “We take the safety and well-being of our customers very seriously and do everything we can to support them when issues like this arise.

“This includes accessing specialist medical advice to assess an individual’s suitability to travel, which is what happened in this case. Whilst we appreciate our customer was disappointed with this decision, we never compromise passenger safety.”