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Finnair has said it had to cancel over 1,700
flights in the last week, disrupting the travel of over 140,000
passengers. The cessation of traffic for the week and the process
of recommencing it are estimated to cause a loss of 20 million
euros to the company. The losses include the costs of stranded
passengers' accommodation as from yesterday (Thursday).
However, despite the loss, Finnair says it
opposes compensation of losses to airlines by European Union
commission-approved subsidies.
"Companies in a weaker economic condition are
making strong demands for help. A subsidy stampede would distort
competition, because the risk of airlines using the system for
wider support would be great. We are already seeing support that
contravenes the EU's state-aid rules," said Mika Vehviläinen,
Finnair's CEO.
According to EU air services regulation, in
order to maintain their operating licenes, airlines must at all
times be able to meet their actual and potential financial
obligations for the next 12-month period.
"We presume that the authorities will check
immediately if the companies demanding support fulfill the
conditions of their operating licenses. The cessation of
operations for a week should not destabilize the solvency of a
company that meets the EU requirements," Vehviläinen added. "The
EU commission has made unreasonable demands on airlines in areas
where the responsibility in fact should rest on member states, but
at the same time has paid scant regard to the fulfilment of
operating license requirements and been sympathetic to subsidizing
potentially non-compliant airlines in these circumstances. For
future and comparable situations, there should be guidelines that
are clear and appropriate for both customers and airlines."
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