Why Finnair Cancelled 40 Flights In 2 Days Over 'Clean Seats'

Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland, has found itself in a rather curious situation this week-cancelling around 20 flights a day, not due to engine troubles or staffing shortages, but because the seats on board some of its Airbus A321s were a bit 'too clean'.

What

The airline has temporarily suspended operations of eight aircraft from its A320 family fleet for additional inspections. The reason? The seat covers were washed with water, and the manufacturer has since pointed out that the effect of this particular cleaning method on the fire protection properties of "the material hasn't been properly verified".

"As part of our ongoing airworthiness monitoring, we have observed that the seat covers in the cabin seats have been washed with water, and the impact of this cleaning method on fire protection has not been properly verified. We are very sorry for the uncertainty and harm this situation may cause you, and we will do our best to minimise the impact on your journey," Finnair said in a statement.

Over 40 Flights Cancelled

The airline confirmed that it had to cancel approximately 20 flights per day over Monday, October 13, and Tuesday, 14 October, to conduct additional inspections on the affected aircraft. The issue concerns eight A321s within its A320 family fleet.

 According to flightradar24, seven of the eight aircraft have been identified. These include OH-LZM, OH-LZN, OH-LZP, and OH-LZU, which were already in Helsinki when the decision was made to halt flights.

OH-LZO was ferried back from Oulu, while OH-LZR and OH-LZT returned from Malaga and London respectively. The likely eighth aircraft, OH-LZS, has been parked in Prague since 28 September for maintenance.

Operations Are Expected To Stabilise Soon

Three of the grounded aircraft are already scheduled to resume service by October 15, suggesting that Finnair's operations might stabilise quickly once safety checks are complete.

For now, the airline is dealing with what might be one of the most unusual aviation hiccups in recent times - a case where overly thorough cleaning ended up grounding flights.