In case of disruption

If your flight is delayed, we will inform you about the delay and the new departure time via an SMS and/or email if we have your correct contact information. You can also find up-to-date flight information via the Finnair app, our travel updates page and on airport monitors.

In case of a longer delay, we will offer you a service voucher for refreshments and/or a meal. To receive a voucher, please follow the instructions sent via an SMS and/or email or announced at the airport.

If you missed your connecting flight

• We will reroute you to your destination. As the availability of alternative flights may be limited, rerouting may take some time.
• You will find your new travel plan in Manage booking or the Finnair app.
• We do our best to inform you about the changes in your connecting flight(s) already during the flight, and our ground crew will ensure that the transfer to your connecting flight goes smoothly.
• Please note that if your journey includes other flights with separate tickets, you should contact the issuing agency to make changes.

If your connection time is very tight

• Occasionally, it is uncertain whether you will be able to make it to your connecting flight. If you still have a chance to catch the flight, our cabin crew or ground crew at the airport will advise you on what to do. If you’re flying to Helsinki on our Airbus fleet, you can also check transfer information from the Nordic Sky portal (A319, A320 and A321 aircraft) or from our in-flight entertainment system (A350 and A330 aircraft).
• In this situation, please proceed to the departure gate of your connecting flight without delay. We understand that this may be a stressful situation for you, and we apologise for the inconvenience.
• If you miss your connecting flight despite your best efforts, our ground crew at the gate or at the transfer service desk will organise a new flight for you.

Unfortunately, sometimes flights are cancelled. We will contact you via SMS and/or email if your flight is cancelled. Please make sure that we have your correct contact information.

In case of cancellation, you normally have these options

• We will try our best to find you an alternative flight to your destination as soon as possible. Please allow us some time to do this, as flight availability may be limited. Once we have booked the new flight, you can find your updated travel plan in Manage booking and the Finnair app. We will also send you an email or SMS about the new travel plan.
• If the new travel plan doesn't suit you, you can move your travel date by a few days via Manage booking.
• If you decide not to travel, you can cancel your entire booking and apply for a full refund of your unused flight ticket via Manage booking.
• If you need to change only some of the flights in your booking or only for some passengers, please contact our customer service.

Since an alternative flight or an alternative means of transportation is sometimes not available on the same day, we will try to arrange hotel accommodation for you in addition to refreshments and/or a meal. This service will be provided if it's within the airline's responsibility. We do our best to find a hotel for you near the airport, but sometimes, due to limited availability, the hotel may be located farther away. If the hotel is located farther away, we will also try to arrange ground transportation for you.

As of 10 December 2024, you can make arrangements for disruptions that occur at Helsinki, Oulu, Copenhagen, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Stockholm Arlanda, Tallinn and Doha Airport through an online tool. If the disruption entitles you to hotel accommodation, you will receive further information via SMS and/or email. Follow the link in the message to select a hotel and get more information on your meal arrangements.

If you don’t receive the SMS or email, please contact our ground crew at the airport to make the necessary disruption arrangements. You can also contact our customer service.

Please check the Questions and answers section on this page for further information.

Like other airlines, we sometimes accept more bookings for our flights than there are seats on the aircraft. This is because not everyone who has made a booking always arrives on the flight. This is also called no-show. We use historical data to estimate the actual number of customers on each flight, and it is rare that a customer is left without a seat on a flight.

This is what happens if it appears that the flight is very full

• Already in advance, we look for volunteers who would be willing to change their flight to another. We do this via email or SMS or during check-in.
• If we contact you in advance and you are willing to change your flight, just follow the instructions provided in the message sent to you and your booking will be changed to a new flight.
• Sometimes you can volunteer to change your flight while checking in online or at the check-in desk. In these situations, we ask you to arrive at the airport and boarding gate normally, as it’s possible that there are available seats on your original flight. Our gate agents will tell you if there is space on the flight and, if necessary, help with booking alternative flights and questions related to compensation.
• If you volunteer to change your travel plans and don’t eventually have a seat on your original flight, we will find the best alternative flight to your destination, take care of you and compensate you for the possible delay and inconvenience.
• It is very rare that we would ask you to change your flight involuntarily. We are genuinely sorry if this happened to you. We will, of course, find you the best possible alternative flight and compensate you for the delay and inconvenience.

There are the letters SBY on my boarding pass and no seat number. What does it mean?

The letters SBY stand for ‘standby’, which means that, for the time being, we’re unable to confirm a seat for you on your flight. We are looking for volunteers to change their flight to another one, so please come to the departure gate as normal because it is very possible that there will be space on the flight. Our gate agents will check the availability for you. In the unfortunate situation that there isn’t a seat for you, we will, of course, find you the best possible alternative flight and compensate you for the delay and inconvenience.

We sometimes lease aircraft from other airlines to cover a temporary shortage of aircraft, which may be, for example, due to sudden aircraft damage or longer-lasting maintenance.

Good to know

• When buying tickets through our website, the operating airline is shown on the flight selection page.
• If you have already made a booking on a flight operated by a leased carrier, we will do our best to inform you about the change via SMS and/or email. Please note that changes to the operating airline sometimes happen at short notice.
• Normally, flights operated by another airline also follow the Finnair service concept. The cabin crew can be from either Finnair or the operating airline.
• If you want to change your travel plan due to a carrier change, you can contact our customer care to change your travel date or cancel your flight and get a full refund for your unused ticket.
• You can find more information about the service on flights with a changed carrier on our Travel updates page.

We are sorry if your bag was left behind or damaged during your journey. Please proceed to our Lost, delayed or damaged baggage page and see the next steps.

If you’re offered hotel accommodation due to a flight disruption, you will receive an SMS from FINNAIRCARE. This message is sent by Finnair. It includes a link to an online tool through which you can book a hotel.

Depending on the contact details in your flight booking, you may also receive an email from noreply@customercare.finnair.com. This is the official email address for some of our disruption-related communication.

You can book a hotel via an online tool to which you will receive a link via an SMS from FINNAIRCARE and/or an email from noreply@customercare.finnair.com. If you don’t receive the message, please contact either our ground crew at the airport or our customer service.

After opening the online tool, select Hotel voucher to browse the hotel options (in some cases, there may be only one option). Select your preferred hotel. After booking the hotel, you can go there directly.

If you wish to book a hotel together with another passenger who is not on the same flight booking (has a different booking reference), please combine your bookings before selecting a hotel. Read more about combining bookings.

Please note that you cannot change your hotel selection after confirming it. You can cancel the hotel booking but this will also cancel the hotel voucher, which means that you won’t be able to book another hotel in the online tool. If you cancel the hotel booking but still want to book a hotel room, please contact either our ground crew at the airport or our customer service.

Yes, you can book a hotel together with another passenger who is not on the same flight booking as you (has a different booking reference). You can combine the bookings in the online tool for flight disruption arrangements. Please note that you need to combine the bookings before selecting and booking a hotel.

Here’s how you can combine bookings:

1. Open the SMS or email you received from Finnair related to hotel and meal arrangements.
2. Open the link to the online tool through which you can book a hotel.
3. Go to the Combine bookings section and click on Add passengers to hotel booking.
4. Fill in the requested details (booking reference, name) and confirm them.
5. If you’re travelling with multiple people, add all the passengers with whom you wish to share a hotel booking.
6. Go back to the home page and select Hotel voucher. Select and book a hotel with the desired room allocation.

When you are offered hotel accommodation due to a flight disruption, you will receive a complimentary breakfast and meal at the hotel. If we’re not able to provide you with a meal at the hotel, we will offer you a separate meal voucher.

If you received a meal voucher via an online tool for flight disruption arrangements, please claim the voucher within that same tool. Follow these steps:

1. Purchase a meal at a restaurant and ask for a receipt after paying.
2. Go to the online tool for flight disruption arrangements (you received a link to it via SMS and/or email).
3. Open the Meal voucher section in the online tool.
4. Follow the instructions and scan the receipt.
5. Enter your bank account details and confirm them.
6. The money will be transferred to you within a week.

Please note that the meal voucher has a fixed value and may not cover the full cost of the meal.