The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency is restricting flights arriving from and departing to destinations outside Finland’s borders in Finnish airspace in the entirety of Finland’s flight information region (HELSINKI FIR) with effect from 21:00 UTC on 27 May 2020 to 20:59 UTC on 10 June 2020, so that the following flights are permitted:
- Cargo flights and necessary transportation for which the Finnish Border Guard has issued a border crossing permit are permitted at Enontekiö, Ivalo, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kemi-Tornio, Kittilä, Kokkola-Pietarsaari, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Oulu, Pori, Rovaniemi, Savonlinna, Seinäjoki, Tampere-Pirkkala and Vaasa Airports.
- At Helsinki, Turku and Mariehamn Airports, cargo flights and the carriage of passengers is permitted as follows:
- With regard to the territory of the European Union and the territory covered by the Schengen Agreement, the following is permitted: return traffic to Finland, return traffic to or through other EU and Schengen States, travel for work, and other necessary transportation.
- With regard to other areas, the following is permitted: return traffic to Finland, return traffic to or through other EU and Schengen States, departure from Finland of a third-country national, and other necessary transportation.
Necessary transportation is considered to include state aviation, search and rescue services, fire prevention, medical service flights, and other comparable flights carried out for particular reasons. The definition of necessary transportation also includes flights carried out in the context of the operations of the Finnish Defence Forces or other state administrative bodies, or at their instruction.
In accordance with the decision of 7 May 2020 of the Finnish Government, the travel for work and other necessary transportation referred to in item 1 above shall also include travel by the following persons and other transportation as specified below:
a) employment or commission-related commuting,
b) diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and personnel of aid organisations in their duties,
c) persons studying in Finland,
d) persons arriving in Finland with a residence permit (including EU or Schengen citizens who have registered their right of residence and seasonal workers from a third country according to a separate quota),
e) persons travelling for imperative family reasons (e.g. travelling to meet with an immediate family member or for their funeral, wedding or illness),
f) persons in need of international protection or travelling for other humanitarian reasons,
g) other necessary and justified travel (e.g. imperative personal reasons, practice of the Saami people’s livelihood and culture), and
h) foreign representatives of the press, who are allowed to arrive in Finland starting from 7 May 2020.
In accordance with the decision of 7 May 2020 of the Finnish Government, the other necessary transportation referred to in item 2 above shall also include travel by the following persons and other transportation as specified below:
a) healthcare and rescue service personnel (including emergency medical services) and elderly care professionals
b) freight transport and logistics personnel,
c) diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and personnel of aid organisations in their duties,
d) persons arriving in Finland with a residence permit (including EU/Schengen citizens who have registered their right of residence and seasonal workers from a third country according to a separate quota),
e) persons in need of international protection or travelling for other humanitarian reasons,
f) other essential and justified traffic, such as work that is important for the functioning of society or for the security of supply, that must be performed by a person or persons arriving from another country and that must be carried out without delay, employment or commission-related commuting of an EU or Schengen State citizen or a UK citizen arriving from a non-Schengen EU Member State or the United Kingdom, as well as persons travelling for imperative family reasons or for other compelling personal reasons, and
g) foreign representatives of the press, who are allowed to arrive in Finland starting from 7 May 2020.
Other arriving and departing flights shall be subject to the issue of a border crossing permit by the Finnish Border Guard.
This Decision shall not apply to overflights in Finnish airspace or technical stopovers.