Foreign Ministry launched mobile service for travellers
The Foreign Ministry today announced the launch, together with Nitro FX, of an SMS service for people travelling abroad.
The SMS service, available in Finnish and Swedish, comprises contact details of Finnish missions, subscription to information concerning travel and allows users to provide notification of their travel plans.
At present the service operates on Radiolinja, Sonera and Telia connections both in Finland and abroad. The aim is to broaden the service and its coverage jointly with the operators. The service number 16358 is easy to remember – 358 being the international dialling code for Finland.
People using the service are not charged for it by the Foreign Ministry but pay for the text messages they send in the usual way.
They can find out the contact details of Finnish missions abroad by sending the text message ‘YHTEYS’ plus the name of the country. The reply they receive gives the address and phone number of the mission. Travellers can receive regular information on travel security using the search word ‘TILAA’ plus the name of the country. They can subscribe to as many countries as they wish. Latest travel information is available using the command word ‘MATKUSTUS’ plus the name of any given country.
Users can also notify the Foreign Ministry of their travel plans, if they wish. The information is kept on a register for the duration of the trip after which it is erased. This is an entirely voluntary procedure, but is strongly recommended for people from Finland travelling to or working in crisis areas. Travel notification can be made by writing the text message ‘MATKALLA’ plus the departure and return dates and the name of the country.
Further information about the mobile service is given on the Foreign Ministry’s web site (formin.finland.fi/palvelut/mobiili). Details of travel information is available at formin.finland.fi/ajankohtaista/matkustus
For more information on the service contact: Raija Leppäjärvi, Info Master, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel: 09 1605 5991, or Antti Villanen, Executive Director, Nitro FX, tel: 040 568 40 14