Finnair announced yesterday that it would be restarting its passenger service from Finland to the UK and Ireland. Authorized by Traficom, the country's communication, and transportation authority, flights are set to resume on January 25th, with certain conditions.Flights are resuming after the Finnish government halted passenger flight traffic from the UK, Ireland, and South Africa. The flight ban was imposed days before Christmas due to a new and more-infectious strain of coronavirus emerging in Britain. Many other countries around the world, from Canada, to Japan, imposed similar travel restrictions.

Comprehensive measures in place

Finnair is also requiring its passengers to present a certificate of a negative COVID-19 test result or certificate of a previous COVID-19 infection for any of its flights to Finland. This policy is being implemented from January 28th and is in line with recommendations presented by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare.

“This requirement complements our other comprehensive measures both onboard and at airports to ensure safe travel during the pandemic,” says Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer, Finnair. “This is also in line with the increasing trend of countries requiring a negative test result for entry.”

However, this requirement will not apply to transit passengers moving through Helsinki Airport for their international connecting flights. The airline has also stated that the certificate requirement is in force until further notice.

"Health security measures at Finnish airports have been strengthened substantially following the detection of the mutations, making it possible to effectively mitigate travel-related risks," - Traficom via Yahoo Finance

Despite the new test certificate requirement by Finnair, there are still existing procedures for arrivals that have been mandated by the health authorities upon arrival in Finland. "All passengers arriving at Helsinki Airport from abroad are directed to COVID-19 testing," the airline states.

Communication to passengers

The airline says that it communicates the new requirement to its customers in all customer communications channels. Finnair staff will be checking the test certificate or other certificate at check-in or at the gate. Failure to provide the required documentation will result in boarding being denied. Customers can then postpone their travel by contacting Finnair.

Finnair's UK and Ireland destinations

According to data from FlightRadar24.com, Finnair operates service to four destinations in the UK and Ireland.

Those destinations are:

• London Heathrow (LHR)
• Manchester (MAN)
• Edinburgh (EDI)
• and Dublin (DUB)

Data shows that the majority of these services will deploy an Embraer E190 two to three times per week for Manchester, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Meanwhile, the airline will use a mix of A319s and E190s for its London Heathrow services, which will operate as much as twice daily.

Have your plans been affected by UK (or Ireland) travel restrictions or flight cancelations? Let us know in the comments.