Finnair shares plummet as airline is banned from Russia’s airspace

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/>