On behalf of unhappy Finnair customers, an air travel compensation firm is preparing a class action lawsuit against the national airline over how it handled flight cancellations and compensation claims last month, according to Iltalehti.
Finnair began cancelling flights after it discovered that seat covers on its A321 fleet had been washed with water. It learned from the manufacturer that the cleaning method's impact on fire safety had not been properly verified, so the airline decided to switch out the covers for new ones.
The situation led to the cancellation of about 40 flights, affecting some 5,000 passengers.
Despite the disruptions, Finnair said it had no plans to compensate customers because of the washing error, as in its view the situation was an "exceptional circumstance".
This view was disputed by the Consumers' Union of Finland, which said the airline is obligated to compensate passengers for the disruptions.
Now, Iltalehti reports, the Danish-German company Flightright has started seeking compensation from Finnair on behalf of passengers. According to its website, Flightright — which operates in Finland under the name Lentoapu — specialises in helping passengers claim compensation for delayed, cancelled, or overbooked flights.
A Flightright spokesperson told Iltalehti that 110 passengers affected by the seat cover cancellations have already signed up to the class action suit, with the first 25 cases expected to come before Finnish courts over the next few months.
"Passengers who have experienced flight cancellations or delays of more than three hours are entitled to compensation of 250, 400, or 600 euros depending on the length of the journey," Flightright's Benedikte Bolvig Lund said.
A class action lawsuit is a legal action in which one or more plaintiffs file a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group of people who have suffered similar harm from the same defendant.
According to Lund, Finnair's decision to refuse to pay compensation does not stand up to legal scrutiny.
Yle News' All Points North podcast looked into what has been a tumultuous year for Finland's national flag carrier Finnair. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
