Finnair has announced that the increased price of cargo currently enables it to continue passenger services to key Asian markets even with the longer flight times.

The airline has confirmed that it will launch flights to Seoul and Shanghai from its Helsinki hub this week, but has cancelled flights to Osaka and Hong Kong until the end of April.

Finnair will launch one flight per week to Shanghai every Thursday from 10 March and thrice weekly flights to Seoul on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12 March 2022.

The flight routes avoid Russian airspace, and the flight time for the Shanghai and Seoul routes will be 12-14 hours, depending on the direction.

Both routes go around Russian airspace from the south, and the return flight from Seoul to Helsinki can also take the northern route.

“We strive to offer our customers connections between Europe and Asia to the extent it is possible in this challenging situation,” said Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “We understand how frustrating the situation is to our customers and are very sorry about the inconvenience and trouble the flight changes are causing them.”

Avoiding the Russian airspace on flights between Europe and Asia has considerable impacts on flight times, thus impacting fuel, personnel and navigation costs.

Finnair has previously confirmed it will continue to fly to Tokyo, going around the Russian airspace, with four weekly flights from 9 March.

The airline also continues to serve Bangkok, Delhi, Phuket, and Singapore, with routes avoiding the Russian airspace.