Air travel disputes
What air travel disputes can the Board process?
The Board can process the following disputes:
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- You purchased the flight as a private person, and the flight was delayed, cancelled or you were denied boarding in Finland
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- The flight irregularity occurred outside the EU, but the destination of the flight is in Finland. This also applies if you are connecting through Finland, and Finland is the first EU country the flight arrives in
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- Your flight was delayed, cancelled or you were denied boarding, and you incurred costs for food, accommodation or other necessary expenses
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- Your baggage was lost or damaged during the flight
The Board cannot process the following disputes:
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- You are travelling on a business trip, and the trip was paid for by a business
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- You booked a flight in the name of a business
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- Your flight was delayed, cancelled or you were denied boarding in an EU country other than Finland. The matter must be resolved by the national enforcement body of that EU country regardless of the domicile of the airline in question
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- The flight irregularity occurred outside the EU, and you connected through another EU country before arriving in Finland. The matter must be resolved by the national enforcement body of the EU country where you made the connection
Turn to
Filing a complaint
A complaint must be filed in Finnish or Swedish. Complaints falling under the scope of EU regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights may also be processed in English. The same applies to complaints pertaining to the Montreal Convention on air carrier liability, when those complaints also include claims based on the air passenger rights regulation.
The Board recommends filing a complaint through the e-services (Sähköinen asiointi). Select the complaint form for air travel (Ratkaisupyyntö lennosta). The correct form helps you provide the information and documentation needed to resolve the matter. If you are unable to use the e-services, you may file a complaint in any format by email or letter. The procedure is fully written, and complaints are not accepted by telephone.
It is your responsibility to submit all the information and documentation necessary to resolve the matter. The Board cannot advise you in specifying your claim or in submitting the necessary information and documentation. For the matter to be resolved by the Board, the complaint needs to include at least:
- The matter in dispute: A description of what is being disputed and what has occurred in the case
- A claim: A specific demand addressed to the airline. Claims must be based on applicable legislation. If you are claiming monetary compensation, specify the amount in euros. The Board cannot recommend a higher amount of compensation than what you have claimed
- Grounds for the claim: Facts that support your claim. You must provide thorough grounds for your claim but avoid unnecessary repetition
- Up-to-date contact information for the airline
The Board only processes claims that are based on applicable legislation. The Board cannot recommend:
- Compensation for distress or inconvenience
- Compensation for procedural expenses arising from the proceedings before the Board, such as legal expenses or the use of personal time or effort
- That the airline changes its general practices, its terms and conditions or its marketing
Attachments to the complaint
If you are acting on your own behalf and on behalf of another person (such as your spouse), or solely on behalf of another person (such as a parent), you must provide a free‑form power of attorney signed by the person authorising you to act on their behalf. If you do not provide the required powers of attorney, the Board may not be able to resolve your matter or may resolve it only on your behalf.
As a general rule, if you make a claim, you must provide sufficient evidence to support it. If you do not submit any written documentation in support of your claim, it is unlikely that the Board can resolve the matter in your favour. The procedure is entirely written, and hearing witnesses is not possible as it is in court proceedings. You therefore cannot name acquaintances or experts to present their views in the matter. The Board also cannot visit the location to investigate the situation either. The Board may reject matters that cannot sufficiently be investigated or that are otherwise unsuitable for the Board’s written procedure, such as matters that require verbal evidence to be resolved.
The Board cannot gather evidence or investigate the matter. The Board does not automatically receive the information and documentation that you have submitted to Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority. It is therefore your responsibility to submit to the Board all the evidence that you wish to appeal to in support of your claim. The Board is impartial and therefore cannot advise you in submitting the necessary information and documentation.
It is important that you do not submit unnecessary information or documentation. The Board may discontinue the proceedings if the matter proves too complex or extensive.
Documentation necessary to resolve air travel disputes includes, for example:
- The flight ticket and reservation confirmation
- Documentation that shows the flight irregularity (such as flight reports or log data from the airline)
- Documentation that shows the possible delay of baggage (such as a property irregularity report)
- Documentation that shows the possible repair of baggage (such as a repair report or invoice)
- Documentation that shows the amount of your claim (such as receipts or invoices)
- Power of attorney when needed
- A dated complaint to the airline and the airline’s response
Do not submit to the Board:
- Health records or other confidential information, unless they are necessary to resolve the matter
- Email threads that are irrelevant to the matter. If a thread contains essential information, submit only the relevant messages and clearly indicate which message you are referring to and why it is relevant
- Links to internet pages
- The same information or documentation more than once
Submitting a complaint
Submit the complaint only after all necessary evidence has been gathered, and submit all required information and documentation at the same time. The complaint must be submitted in writing. Complaints cannot be accepted by telephone.
Please submit the complaint primarily through the e-services. All necessary documentation must be attached to the complaint as PDF files or as video or image files. As the Board is unable to open links, all relevant information must be included in the attachments submitted to the Board.
When submitting a complaint by email, attach the complaint and all necessary documentation as PDF files or as video or image files. As the Board is unable to open links, all relevant information must be included in the attachments submitted to the Board.
When submitting a complaint by letter, print or write the necessary information on A4‑sized paper. Do not staple the papers together or attach Post‑it notes or any other items that may interfere with scanning.
The Board’s contact information is available here.