Government resolution: support for repatriation flights possible

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Government issued a resolution on 24 March allowing the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to plan to arrange reasonably priced repatriation flights for travellers who are no longer able to return to Finland using commercial connections. In line with the Government resolution, a maximum of EUR 4,000,000 in support can be provided for repatriation flights.

The preferred option for repatriation is still commercial air connections, which continue to be available from many countries. The Nordic and Baltic countries, along with other countries in the EU, are also engaging in close cooperation to provide additional flights.  

In recent days, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has surveyed the situation of Finnish tourists worldwide, and Finnish missions have assisted them in finding return connections. Thousands of tourists have returned from abroad following a call to return issued by the Government on 16 March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government is urging all travellers remaining abroad to submit a travel notification(Link to another website.) and to return to Finland as soon as possible through the connections still available. Through the travel notification system, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs can contact tourists and provide information on return connections from different countries. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish missions abroad will continue to advise and assist travellers in returning from abroad and will provide information on the topic on their social media channels.

Inquiries: Anu Pulkkinen, Head of Unit, Unit for Communications for Current Affairs, tel. +358 40 481 9880.

The email addresses of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in the format [email protected]