Finnair Schedules Canada Return After Decade-Long Absence

Finnair will resume flights to Canada for the first time in over a decade with the launch of nonstop service between Helsinki and Toronto next year.

Starting May 4, 2026, Finnair will operate three weekly flights between Helsinki Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport using Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The service, running westbound on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, will be the only nonstop connection between Finland and Canada. Finnair last served the Canadian market in 2015.

The route launch follows a broader transatlantic expansion by the Nordic carrier, which has shifted capacity westward after the closure of Russian airspace disrupted its longstanding Asia-focused network.

Finnair is serving five North American destinations during the summer 2025 season, offering 27% more capacity than in summer 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine. CEO Turkka Kuusisto previously said the airline will maintain a more balanced long-haul strategy, even if the Russian airspace reopens—although such a development would allow a return to 24-hr. Asia rotations.

The Canada relaunch is also supported by steady underlying demand. Point-to-point traffic between Canada and Finland totaled 42,300 two-way passengers in 2024, down 3.1% from the previous year, according to Sabre Market Intelligence data. The Helsinki–Toronto city pair accounted for roughly a third of that traffic, making it the largest market between the two countries.

The planned launch of the Toronto route comes as Finnair continues to recover from several headwinds, including industrial action by pilots earlier this year, which caused nearly 2,000 flight cancellations and affected over 200,000 passengers.

A new collective labor agreement was ratified on June 8, ending 10 months of negotiations. The labor disruptions cost the carrier approximately €31 million ($35 million) in lost revenue during the first quarter alone.