Finnair policy for flight disruptions

Page latest updated:

Please see below guidelines for different scenarios, including separate sections for Joint Business routes and itineraries with other airlines. You can find supporting refund instructions on Refund page. For group bookings, please see Disruptions under Group Travel

In departure and arrival delay scenarios within 0–48h window, where onward connections under the same ticket are missed, the operating carrier is in charge of rerouting the customer to one's final destination and sending customer notifications. Please make sure that customer contact details are always found on bookings.

When Finnair is the operating carrier, Finnair will handle rebooking customer to the next possible connection. All further changes are considered as voluntary changes as per fare rules.  

0–2 days Under 3 hours Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY flight free of charge in same booking class According to ticket rules Operating carriers' responsibility
0–2 days Over 3 hours Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY flight free of charge in same booking class According to ticket rules, entitled for refund if the delay is more than 5 hours or if the purpose of the journey is not met anymore. Operating carriers' responsibility
Days to departure Timing Change Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing and Operating Flight

Schedule changes eg. due to commercial reasons usually take place latest 14 days before the departure. However, the same policy applies if the change should occur 2–14 days before departure.

0–2 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Operating carriers' responsibility
0–2 days 31min and more Finnair will automatically update the new flight details to the PNR and update the ticket.  If broken connections are caused by an AY timing change, please contact Finnair Agent Help Desk to check possible options. Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Operating carriers' responsibility
2–365 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Marketing carriers' responsibility
2–365 days 31min and more Possible to change +/- 14 days to AY operated and marketed flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excluding QR) options can be used. Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Marketing carriers' responsibility 
Days to departure Timing Change Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing and Operating Flight


0–2 days Best available AY operated and marketed flight. Possible to change +/-14 days. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excluding QR) can be used but possible to change +/-2 days. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Operating carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications
2–365 days Best available AY operated and marketed flight. Possible to change +/-14 days. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excluding QR) can be used. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Marketing carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications
Days to departure Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing and Operating Flight


Atlantic Joint Business (AJB) disruption policy

Below guidelines apply to tickets issued on Finnair 105 stock. For tickets issued on other stock than 105, please follow corresponding carrier's policy.

Schedule change policy

Schedule changes eg. due to commercial reasons usually take place 14 days before the departure. However, the same policy applies if the change should occur 2–14 days before departure.

Days to departure Timing Change Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing Flight
0–72 hours 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Operating carriers' responsibility
0–72 hours 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/AA/BA/EI/IB operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, ok to use AY* and AJB/SJB carrier if no reasonable connection with AY* AY/AA/BA/EI/IB can be found.  Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Operating carriers' responsibility
3–14 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Marketing carriers' responsibility
3–14 days 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/AA/BA/EI/IB operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, ok to use AY* and AJB/SJB carrier if no reasonable connection with AY* AY/AA/BA/EI/IB can be found.  Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Marketing carriers' responsibility
14–365 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Marketing carriers' responsibility 
14–365 days 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/AA/BA/EI/IB operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, ok to use AY* and AJB/SJB carrier if no reasonable connection with AY* AY/AA/BA/EI/IB can be found.  Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Marketing carriers' responsibility 

Cancellation policy

Days to departure Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing Flight
0–72 hours Operating carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Operating carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 
72 hours–14 days AY marketed and AY/AA/BA/EI/IB operated flight to be always prioritized. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AJB & SJB and oneworld (excl. QR) can be used. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Marketing carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 
14–365 days AY marketed and AY/AA/BA/EI/IB operated flight. Possible to change -2/+7 days. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excl. QR) can be used. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Marketing carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 


Siberian Joint Business (SJB) disruption policy

Below guidelines apply to tickets issued on Finnair 105 stock. For tickets issued on other stock than 105, please follow corresponding carrier's policy.

Schedule change policy

Schedule changes eg. due to commercial reasons usually take place 14 days before the departure. However, the same policy applies if the change should occur 2–14 days before departure.

Days to departure Timing Change Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing Flight
0–24 hours 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Operating carriers' responsibility
0–24 hours 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/BA/IB/JL operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excl. QR) can be used. Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Operating carriers' responsibility
24 hours–14 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Marketing carriers' responsibility 
24 hours–14 days 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/BA/IB/JL operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excl. QR) can be used. Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Marketing carriers' responsibility 
14–365 days 30min or less According to ticket rules According to ticket rules Marketing carriers' responsibility 
14–365 days 31min and more Possible to change +/- 2 days to AY marketed and AY/BA/IB/JL operated flight free of charge in same booking class or lowest available in same cabin. If broken connections caused by the AY timing change, AY* AJB & SJB and oneworld (excl. QR) can be used. Full or partial refund if change is 1h or more Marketing carriers' responsibility 

 Cancellation policy

Days to departure Rebooking/Rerouting Refund AY Marketing Flight
0–24 hours Operating carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Operating carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 
24 hours–14 days AY marketed and AY/BA/IB/JL operated flight to be always prioritized. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB can be used. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Marketing carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 
14–365 days AY marketed and AY/BA/IB/JL operated flight. Possible to change -2/+7 days. If no reasonable solution with AY can be found, AY* AJB & SJB can be used. Same RBD or lowest available in same cabin. Full or partial refund of unused ticket and ancillaries Marketing carrier is responsible of all rebookings and notifications 


Involuntary changes to other airline tickets in AY operated disruptions

If the customer has not yet started one's journey, we try to keep the original ticket on the original ticketing carrier/booking source (eg. travel agent). If the customer is holding another airline ticket and there is a disruption on a Finnair operated flight, the general involuntary rebooking and reissuing policies are as per below chart: 

Customer is holding another airline ticket Invol rebooking/reissuing responsibility
Disruption occurs 0–48h before the departure Finnair
Disruption occurs 48h or beyond the departure Marketing carrier

Exceptional policy applies for 

  • AJB: window for operating carrier ticketing duty is 0–72h before the departure
  • SJB:  window for operating carrier ticketing duty is 0–24h before the departure


Codeshare & OAL Changes

Codeshare changes (AY marketed flights)  

Finnair as a marketing carrier is responsible of rebooking and notifying AY* marketed customers on our codeshare flights when a schedule change or a cancellation happens outside operative window (generally >2 days to dep).  

Other airline changes (pure OAL flight cancelled)

Other airline is responsible for rebooking the customer, even if it is ticketed on 105. Refund can be made via the original booking source (eg. travel agent).

In case of major disruption, we will inform customers via SMS/emails so please make sure that customer contact details are always found on bookings.

If Finnair flight is cancelled or the delay is more than 5 hours, customer is entitled to an alternative connection or to a refund. Please see detailed policies above in the cancellation/delay section.