Finland extends UK flights suspension until Jan 11

Finland has decided to extend the ongoing flights suspension to and from United Kingdom to January 11.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) took the decision on Thursday afternoon, said Traficom in a statement.

Earlier, on December 21, Finland decided to suspend all flights to and from the United Kingdom for two weeks until January 4 following the emergence of a highly infectious variant of coronavirus in UK.

The Traficom took the decision following a recommendation made by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Several European countries imposed ban on flights to and from UK.

In a risk assessment published on 29 December, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control stated that the new COVID-19 variant detected in the UK is transmitted significantly more rapidly than the earlier strains of the virus. The new variant thus has the potential to cause an epidemic that spreads much faster and places extreme pressure on the capacity of the healthcare system.

As of 31 December 2020, THL has reported two infections caused by the new mutated variant of the coronavirus in passengers who arrived in Finland from the United Kingdom. Similar cases have been detected in several other countries, leading many to place restrictions on travel by air and other means to countries with a high incidence of coronavirus variants.

THL considers that the current state of the epidemic in Finland is serious, with effective measures needed to restrict and control its transmission.

The new mutated variant of the virus constitutes a significant threat, which should be effectively prevented from spreading in Finland.