In March 2022, Finnair carried 614,500 passengers, which was 611.7% more than in March 2021. The number of passengers in March 2022 was 38.7% more than in February 2022 (month-on-month figures are not fully comparable as there were three fewer days in February).
The COVID-19 impact, including the strict travel restrictions imposed by several countries due to the Omicron variant, still affected passenger traffic figures. It was particularly visible in the Asian figures. The Russian airspace was closed at the end of February due to the counter sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, which resulted in route and frequency cancellations in Asian traffic in March. Thanks to robust demand for cargo, Finnair was, however, able to continue operating to most of its Asian destinations despite the longer routings. Thus, the negative impact of the airspace closure on Asian passenger traffic figures, which were already affected by the pandemic, was moderate in March. The reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings.
The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in March by 454.7% year-on-year and by 10.0% month-on-month. Finnair operated, on average, 213 daily flights (cargo-only included), which was 187.8% more than in March 2021 and 8.7% more than in February 2022. The differences between capacity figures compared to March 2021 are explained by the longer average stage length of flights operated and by the larger gauge of aircraft operated. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 1,085.1% year-on-year and by 31.8% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 28.0% points year-on-year and by 8.7% points month-on-month to 52.6%.
