As of next Thursday, June 13, Finnair’s two weekly flights to St Petersburg, cancelled by Russian authorities in response to EU aircraft noise restrictions affecting Russian aircraft, will be returned to the schedule.

The two flights, AY167 and AY 168, operating to and from Helsinki and St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday evenings, will be restored to the timetable as of the beginning of the week. Flights to Moscow removed from the schedule, however, remain cancelled for the time being.

The EU’s new restrictions came into force on April 1, 2002, and affect traffic at airports within the European Union, to and from which jet aircraft exceeding restricted noise levels may no longer fly. The limits were approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as long ago as 1991.

Not all Russian aircraft meet the required limits on noise, and have therefore had restrictions placed on their operations. Because of this, the Russian aviation authorities have imposed their own retaliatory restrictions on flights operated by Finnair and other EU airlines to Russia.

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