Shares in Finnair slumped on Monday after the airline suspended its guidance and warned of a “significant” hit to its finances following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company’s stock dropped 21% to E0.45 by the close of trading in Europe, one of the biggest fallers in the region, as Moscow banned it from Russian airspace. The group has big exposure to Russia, building its business on growing demand for passenger and cargo flights connecting Europe with Asia, and uses its location in the north of Europe to offer quick flight paths through northern Russia. The group said Moscow’s flight ban, announced on Monday in retaliation for the EU’s move to block Russian airlines from their skies over the weekend, would make these routes uneconomical. Moscow introduced like-for-like sanctions in response to bans on its carriers, barring 36 countries from its airspace including all of the EU. “The negative financial impacts on Finnair will be significant especially if the situation prolongs,” the company said. The Finnish airline on Monday announced the cancellation of all flights to Japan, Korea, China and Russia, but said it was looking at alternative routings for some flights to Asia.<br/>
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Airbus hit back in an escalating dispute with Qatar Airways over A350 jets on Monday, asking a British judge to award $220 million in damages over two undelivered airliners. The planemaker's claim for two A350s that Qatar's national carrier has rejected comes after the airline sued Airbus for $600m over degradation on more than 20 jets recently grounded by Qatar. Airbus also wants to recover millions of dollars of credits awarded to the airline, a filing showed, offering a rare glimpse into negotiating details in the secretive global aircraft industry. The counter-offensive is the latest salvo in a months-old contractual and safety dispute that has brought ties between Qatar and one of France's most high-profile firms to a low as Qatar prepares for an influx of visitors for the World Cup. Once basking in headlines as they signed multi-billion-dollar deals at air shows, the two sides are now locked in an unprecedented public dispute over erosion to the painted surface and lightning protection on the Airbus A350 airliner. Qatar Airways has said the surface degradation raises unanswered questions over the safety of the jets, prompting its regulator to ground planes one by one as the problem appears. Airbus reiterated that the planes are safe because of margins built into the anti-lightning system and accused the airline of instigating the regulator's decision.<br/>