One in five flights is delayed at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport

Passengers from Phuket arrive 22 hours late; airport strewn with people waiting to board flights that are still in the air

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Delays in outbound flights from Finland have become an everyday phenomenon during the run-up to Christmas. Typically, when one plane is delayed, it plays havoc with all flight schedules.
     
The latest delays were experienced on Monday when the incoming flight of the Finnish travel operator Finnmatkat from Phuket arrived 22 hours behind schedule, just before midnight.
      On Sunday the same travel operator’s flight to Phuket was nearly 24 hours late, while another plane to Phuket departed from Savonlinna 18 hours late at the beginning of December.
      Most frequently, delays are attributed to technical failures. Finnmatkat flies aircraft owned by Finnair, Air Finland, or Tuifly Nordic.
     
Typically, delays are a cause for concern only in holiday traffic. On scheduled flights delays can be avoided - as far as possible - by using other airlines or alternative routes.
      One major delay usually causes a snowball effect, which will delay other flights as well.
      For example, a plane from Mexico arrived at Helsinki-Vantaa seven hours late on Monday. Next, the aircraft was bound for Funchal, Madeira, and it correspondingly took off more than six hours late on Monday evening.
     
The Finnish airlines Finnair and Air Finland as well as the tour operators Aurinkomatkat and Finnmatkat report that delays running to several hours are rare, and the current situation is a sum of coincidences.
      For example if a flight is 22 hours late, a passenger gets compensation for the lost day.
      In the case of package tours, the compensations are paid by the travel operator. As for scheduled flights, passengers should turn to the airline.
      The price of one holiday can be calculated by dividing the price of the tour by the number of days. Consequently, if a 7-day vacation costs EUR 700, the price of one lost day is EUR 100.
     
If a flight is considerably delayed, the passenger does not have to submit a compensation claim, as the travel operator will pay the sums due automatically. A delay of more than eight hours on a 7-day tour entitles a passenger to compensation. Possible losses of earnings and failures to catch connecting flights are covered by travel insurance.
      Sunday’s 22-hour delay will cost the tour operator a total of at least EUR 170,000, estimates Anu-Eveliina Mattila, the chief of communications at Finnmatkat.
     
Just over 20 per cent of all Helsinki-Vantaa flights are delayed. The figure includes all inbound and outbound flights that are more than 15 minutes late.
      In comparison, the corresponding figure for London’s Heathrow is 38.9 per cent.
      Over the period from July through September, the average delay of Helsinki-Vantaa flights was something over 38 minutes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Delays with luggage reclaim at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport look set to continue into August (31.7.2007)

Links:
  Helsinki-Vantaa arrivals and departures

Helsingin Sanomat