STOCKHOLM, September 21. /TASS/. Finnish flag carrier Finnair is launching a Helsinki-Melbourne route with a travel time of approximately 24 hours, the Simple Flying portal reported.

Aircraft will be forced to bypass Russian airspace, which remains closed to airlines from nations deemed "unfriendly" following their restrictions on Russian carriers.

According to the portal, the daily flights will logistically kick off on October 25. The route from Finland to Australia will include a technical stopover in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Earlier in September, Finnair CEO Turkka Kuusisto complained of "extremely unfair" competitive conditions since losing access to Russia's skies. He noted that Chinese airlines, which retain access to Russian airspace, hold a significant time advantage. Finnair has had to reroute its Asian flights. Consequently, the flight from Shanghai to Helsinki now takes four hours longer than before.

Russia closed its airspace to Finnair in March 2022 in a reciprocal move after Finland banned Russian air carriers. To mitigate the resulting financial losses, Finnair subsequently implemented major staff cuts and began wet-leasing its aircraft--renting them out complete with crews--to other airlines.