Finland’s airport strike ends after six-month dispute

By admin On Jul 13, 2025

Passengers at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Industrial actions announced for later this month have been called off. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva

A prolonged labour dispute in Finland’s aviation sector has ended following a new agreement between the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) and Service Sector Employers Palta. The deal was confirmed late Saturday after both parties accepted a third mediation proposal from the National Conciliator.

The agreement halts all planned strikes between 16 and 25 July and allows Finnair and other affected operators to return to normal service immediately. Finnair confirmed that its full flight schedule will resume without further disruption.

The 1.5-year collective agreement grants wage increases in line with Finland’s general labour standard, with a 2.5 percent rise this year and 2.4 percent in 2026. No other contractual changes were made.

“The damage and disruption caused have been extensive,” said Minna Ääri, Director of Labour Market Affairs at Palta. “We saw value in resolving this conflict now, even though not all our desired changes were included.”

The IAU has pushed for higher-than-standard pay increases, citing wage freezes during the pandemic. Workers in ground services, including aircraft maintenance, catering, and cargo, gave up two years of wage hikes in 2020 to support the struggling aviation industry.

The union argued that the general wage line, currently set by export industries at around 7.8 percent over three years, fails to compensate for pandemic-era losses.

Juhani Haapasaari, IAU Chair, said the shorter contract period reflects a compromise. He confirmed that a new working group will begin in October to examine how previous cost-cutting measures have affected wages and employment stability.

The strikes, which had begun impacting air traffic in early spring, led to the cancellation of more than 1,200 Finnair flights. According to Palta, approximately 100,000 passengers were affected.

Päivyt Tallqvist, Finnair’s Head of Communications, said passengers can now travel as originally planned. She acknowledged that the airline’s reputation may take time to recover but noted that customers had expressed appreciation for the airline’s handling of the disruptions.

The IAU said it remains committed to addressing unresolved issues in upcoming negotiations, including whether losses endured during the COVID-19 period should influence future pay settlements.

The working group will focus on analysing how the 2020–2022 savings agreements affected staff income and job retention and whether such impacts should factor into future bargaining rounds.

The dispute had been one of the longest in Finland’s aviation sector in recent years. Talks had stalled repeatedly, with the union and employers locked over how to balance post-pandemic recovery with rising labour costs and inflation.

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi