Police removed Finns Party MP Tomi Immonen from a Finnair plane at Helsinki Airport on Saturday. The matter was first reported by the tabloid Iltalehti.
According to the newspaper, Immonen, who appeared intoxicated, argued with the flight crew for a long time and refused to leave the plane despite repeated requests to do so. Eventually, police removed him from the plane. According to airport operator Finavia, the flight to Bangkok was delayed by more than an hour due to the incident.
Yle’s Swedish-language service reached Immonen for comment. According to Immonen, the flight crew assessed that he was too intoxicated to board the plane.
"Anyone might think that I [was] not capable of flying an airplane, but maybe I was able to travel and sit in my seat," Immonen said.
Finnair’s flight to Bangkok takes nearly 12 hours. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the plane landed nearly two hours late as it had missed its original landing slot due to the delayed departure.
MP issues apology
Immonen subsequently sent a message apologising to Finnair staff and those whose holidays were delayed due to the events.
He told Iltalehti that he took a breathalyser test which showed that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.069 percent, well over the 0.05 percent limit for operating a car.
Iltalehti quotes a passenger as saying that Immonen argued with staff for some 40 minutes, repeating loudly that he was an MP, an former officer and a Finnair frequent flyer. Immonen is a retired lieutenant colonel whose 30-year military career included a stint as a peacekeeper in Lebanon.
Jani Mäkelä, chair of the Finns Party parliamentary group, commented on the incident in a social media post on Sunday.
"The information that has been made public about the actions of a member of our group on a flight is unfortunate. We have been in contact regarding the matter," Mäkelä wrote on X. He did not comment on possible repercussions.
Mäkelä later told Yle that he did not think the Finns Party group would need to take an stand on the incident.
Last year, the party expelled MP Timo Vornanen after he fired a gun during a 4am altercation outside a Helsinki bar. In 2021, the party kicked out then-MP Ano Turtiainen over racist social media posts.
Last month, Mäkelä said that the party would not take any action over MP Teemu Keskisarja's speech at a far-right rally.
The Finns Party is the second-largest in Parliament, with 46 seats compared to the NCP's 48 and the opposition SDP's 43.
3pm: Added Mäkelä comment to Yle, other details.
