10 questions about travel documents

1. How should I enter my name when booking a plane ticket? 

When you buy a flight ticket from Finnair, we need your last name and at least one of your first names on the passport when making a reservation. For a smooth trip, it is even better if you enter all your first names stated in the passport, although this is not mandatory. 
Please make sure you enter all the names on the booking in the same way as they are written in your passport and any airline frequent flyer cards. Please do not use your nickname in the booking, even if it is a commonly used nickname. 

It is a good idea to fill in the names carefully when making a reservation and make sure that you fill them in in the correct fields on the booking form. Miscategorised names will not be accepted on flights that cross the Schengen area borders. 

When traveling to, from or through China, Chinese names must be written in the same format as they are in the machine-readable part of the passport, i.e. at the bottom of the passport page. All names should be added to the reservation. 

Please note that name writing rules may differ between different airlines. 

2. My name has an umlaut or a hyphen. How to write them in the reservation? 

When booking a plane ticket, you can enter your name in the same way as it is written on your passport. At Finnair, we also accept the following spellings: 
•    Ä can be written A or AE 
•    Ö can be written O or OE 
•    Å can be written A or AA 
•    Ü can be written as U or UE 

It's good to know that our booking system replaces all the ä, ö, å and ü letters with a, o, a and u letters and removes hyphens from the names, so you don't have to worry if your name looks a little strange in your ticket. 

3. What if my name is misspelled on the ticket? 

The bottom line is that a small typo does not hurt when travelling within the Schengen area. For example, if your name is Johnsson and it is written as Johnson so that one "s" is missing, that's okay. However, if the name is written, for example, Johanssen, the name must be corrected in the reservation, because the name is completely different from the one in your passport. 

Accurate and correct name information in your flight ticket guarantees you a smooth journey. Our customer service can help you correct your name for a service fee. 

4. My gender is wrong in my booking. Do I need to make a correction to the booking? 

The wrong gender in the booking can cause challenges, so we recommend that you contact us and correct the information in your booking, especially when travelling to the Non-Schengen area. 

5. What travel documents do I need when I travel? Is a driver's license valid? 

The travel documents you need depend on your nationality, destination country, and the countries you're travelling through. You can read more about the travel document requirements on our Travel Documents page or on the IATA website. On most routes, you will need a passport. You may also need a visa to your destination country – and some countries even require a health or vaccination certificate. 

Citizens of Finland and the other Nordic countries can use a driver’s license as a travel document when travelling to Finland or other Nordic countries. 

6. How long does my passport need to be valid after my trip? 

It varies from country to country, how long your passport should be valid after your trip. Some countries require your passport to be valid for three to six months at the end of your trip, and in some countries it is enough to have a passport valid for the entire duration of your trip. You should check this with each country's embassy or IATA’s website for more detailed information. 

7. When I book a flight ticket with Finnair, will I be asked for my passport information? 

We, at Finnair, do not ask for your passport information when purchasing a ticket. If you are travelling to, through or just across the USA, USA authorities will require certain information about you prior to your trip. This means that we need your passport details and the address of your first place to stay in the USA in advance. In addition, the USA authority requires a phone number and email address, through which they can reach you during your stay in the country, if necessary. You can add this information to your booking in Manage booking after purchasing the ticket. 

If your ticket includes flights with other airlines, they may require your passport information already at the time of booking. 

8. Does my child need their own passport or other identity documentation? 

Requirements for a children's passport or ID vary depending on the route and sometimes also the airline. Generally speaking, children are required to have their own passport or ID when travelling. Nordic citizens under the age of 16 do not need a passport or ID when travelling together with their parents on a Finnair flight to the Nordic countries. Nordic citizens under the age of 12 do not need a passport or ID when travelling alone in the Nordic countries, but a person who accompanies a child or is meeting him or her must prove his or her identity with a passport or a photo ID issued by an authority. 

9. Is a letter of agreement required? 

Some countries require the child to carry a letter of acceptance from the parents or guardians when the child is travelling without parents or with only one parent. Permission may be asked either when leaving the country or when entering the country. The best information about the letter of acceptance in each country can be obtained from the local authorities. More information can also be found on the IATA website. 

10. I am travelling via the USA to another country. What address should I give to the authorities? 

When you have a connecting flight from the USA to a third country within eight hours of arriving in the USA, you can enter "in transit to" in the street address field and the name of the country you are going to. The city and state are the same as the airport you land in the USA. If you don't know the correct zip code, you can use 99999. 

If you are going on a cruise after your flight, enter the name of the cruise ship in the address field, and in the country and state sections, enter the ones from which the cruise begins. You can mark 99999 as the postal code.