Although Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) reported that airlines in central Europe last week operated about 70 percent of their pre-pandemic flights, it does look like the air traffic between the Nordic regions and Asia will need more time to recover.
According to Helsinki Times, Finland’s national air carrier Finnair has observed a rise in bookings in Europe for the near future, especially for package tours, and Timo Kousa who is managing director of Aurinkomatkat, Finnair Holidays trips tour operator, said that there appears to be a demand for flights scheduled for October and around Christmas time.
According to Timo Kousa however, due to restrictions and a rise in covid-19 infection cases in Asia, flights to the region are expected to take a little longer to recover.
Currently, Finnair is expecting Asian destinations to re-open for tourists a few months after Europe, around winter 2022. “Demand for the winter has been unusually high, even compared to an ordinary year. Thailand is a good destination in terms of sales, and people seem confident that they can get away for a winter holiday,” Timo Kousa said.