Finnair has decided to temporarily lay off 36 pilots from its long-haul routes.
The temporary layoff is expected to commence by the end of September at the latest and continue at least until May 2026. In February, Finnair indicated the possibility of dismissing pilots.
Since December 2024, negotiations with the Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association (FALPA, SLL) have been challenging, leading to a prohibition on standby duties and overtime by union-affiliated pilots, affecting two routes operated as wet lease services. Moving forward, the wet lease operations will be reduced to one route.
Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer, commented, “The pilot strike has impacted our ability to operate wet lease services with the necessary reliability, resulting in changes to our cooperation and necessitating the temporary layoff of some pilots. This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.”
Finnair handles the operation of the Qantas Sydney–Singapore and Bangkok routes as part of its services.
