Not perturbed by Air India's use of Russian airspace: Finnair India head

In response, Russia banned their carriers from using its airspace. However, there are no such restrictions on Indian carriers

Finnair and other European carriers are not perturbed by Air India's use of Russian airspace, as the advantage the Indian carrier gains in terms of shorter flight time is not more than 1-1.5 hours, Sakari Romu, who heads India operations of the Finnish national carrier, told Business Standard.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, European and North American countries banned Russian carriers from using their airspace. In response, Russia banned their carriers from using its airspace. However, there are no such restrictions imposed on Indian carriers.

In June, Scott Kirby, CEO of Chicago-based United Airlines, expressed concerns about the risks associated with flying over the Russian airspace, while carriers from China and India maintain a competitive edge in using it.

Prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, United Airlines flew four India-US routes, but after the Russian airspace ban, it had to halt flights on three routes due to the increased flight durations.

The flight time of Finnair's Mumbai-Helsinki flight increased by about 20 per cent, which amounts to an additional 1.5 hours, due to the Russian airspace ban. The flight time of its Delhi-Helsinki flight also jumped by about 1.5 hours.

Romu, who also holds the designation of General Manager (India), said Finnair has recently restructured its flight network and Mumbai-Helsinki service to be removed in July to optimise the network.

“It (Mumbai) was one piece of puzzle, among other thousand pieces, and we could not get the puzzle done without removing it....that was unfortunate," he added. 

Finnair currently runs 14 weekly flights between Delhi and Helsinki, and until July, it operated six flights a week between Mumbai and Helsinki, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The airline intends to restart its Mumbai-Helsinki flight by the end of March next year, but confirmation is pending as the summer season scheduling is not yet finalised, Romu said.

He mentioned the airline's interest in launching flights to Chennai and Bengaluru in the future, but the timeline is uncertain, depending on the war's resolution.

"If the war were to end tomorrow," he pointed out, "the timeframe would likely be much shorter."

Romu voiced concerns about the use of Russian airspace by Indian carriers, emphasizing that this issue is not exclusive to Finnair but affects all European carriers.

While the time difference for Indian carriers flying over Russian airspace is relatively minor, ranging from 1-1.5 hours, the gap increases substantially to 4-5 hours for flights to China. "Of course, I don't feel this is fair," he noted.

He emphasized that the matter has garnered substantial attention in Europe, asserting it as an EU (European Union) concern rather than a limited issue between Finland, India, or China. Romu stressed that such a complex issue should be addressed at the EU level, avoiding the discretion of a single country or airline.

Romu also discussed Air India's use of Russian airspace, acknowledging its benefits in shorter flight times. However, he pointed out that this advantage does not "heavily bugger" European carriers, especially when compared to the Chinese market.

He stated, "I don't think it is heavily affecting European carriers that Air India is flying 1-1.5 hours shorter...I don't think Air India is considering expanding its network to Europe because of this (Russian airspace ban)." 

He highlighted that the 1-1.5 hours difference, even from a customer's perspective, is not substantial enough to significantly influence network planning. While it does increase flying costs slightly, it is not a decisive factor for airlines in their network planning.

The Finnish government aims to facilitate the relocation of 15,000 people from India to Finland annually. While they received approximately 7,500 applications last year, their objective is to double this number.

Romu highlighted efforts made by the Finnish government to streamline the visa process, noting, "Today, the government is committed to processing your visas and those of your entire family (in India) within a two-week timeframe."