Finnish airline refused to carry passengers with Russian passports to Helsinki October 2, 2022 – October 2, 2022

Five people with Russian passports at Dusseldorf airport were unable to fly on their flight. FinnAir refused to register them.

As Valentin, an eyewitness to the events, told Fontanka, on October 2 he and his friends arrived as an interpreter at a German airport. The day before, they bought tickets to the capital of Finland on the airline’s website. Two of them have a residence permit in Germany. They, as well as a woman with a child, who flew through Helsinki to Tyumen for a funeral, were turned back at the check-in and baggage check-in stage.

“They said that according to the new law, Russians are not imprisoned. Which one was not specified. Since there is no Fineair representative at Dusseldorf airport, we called the police. While the police were driving, they called the carrier’s hotline. They did nothing and promised to refund the money. The police understood the situation, but could not do anything. So they said in plain text: “We understand, but it’s a ban for Russians,” Valentin said.

So far, travelers have decided to fly through Turkey.

Finland has banned the entry of Russian tourists since September 30. It was stated that “entry will be denied to persons traveling to Finland or through Finland to other states participating in the Schengen agreement for the purpose of tourism.” It was noted that the implementation of the decision will be carried out primarily on the eastern border, but it will also apply to Russians arriving in Finland through other sections of the external border. For these purposes, the Finns worked with carriers. And, apparently, this is the implementation of this statement.

At the same time, the border guards stated that “Finland also does not intend to prevent the return of Russian citizens to Russia through Finland.” And therefore, many traveling within the framework of the “Schengen” did not expect any restrictions. Detailed explanations are here.