Finnair terminates Ljubljana service
Finnair will discontinue its seasonal flights between Helsinki despite initial plans to resume operations between the two cities this summer after two years. Following the revision of its 2022 summer season network this week, the Ljubljana route, which has been suspended since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, is no longer on sale. One-stop options are now being offered five times per week through its Oneworld alliance partner British Airways via London. Initially, Finnair delayed the resumption of its service to the Slovenian capital from March 28 until June 1 but has now shelved the flights altogether. Under its original plan, it was to serve Ljubljana four times per week this year until late October.
The development comes ahead of Finnair’s service launch to nearby Zagreb. The airline intends on operating seasonal flights between Helsinki and the Croatian capital three times per week from May1 until September 29. Finnair handled a notable number of transfer passengers from Asia on its Ljubljana service, with the carrier holding an 8% share of all single-ticket travellers between the continent and the Slovenian capital in the pre-pandemic 2019. That year, it handled a total of 32.218 passengers on the route, representing an increase of 11% on 2018 when it saw 29.019 travellers but down 6% on 2017.
Finnair is among the hardest hit European carriers by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the closure of Russian airspace to EU carriers, forcing it to add hours onto its flights to the Far East. The carrier has established itself in recent years as a transfer airline between Western Europe and Asia. Finnair has reduced its overall operations and estimates that ninety to 200 pilots, as well as 150 to 450 cabin crew, will be laid off as a result. Furthermore, the slow reopening of key Asian markets has also impacted the carrier’s performance. However, despite these issues, the airline will introduce new destinations in the United States and India, along with Zagreb this summer.
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