Finnair Strengthens U.S.–Europe Link With New Routes

‍NEW YORK — Finnair (AY), the national airline of Finland, has announced an expanded network for US passengers who intend to travel to Europe via the airline's Helsinki hub (HEL) in 2026.

Kuressaare (Estonia), Luxembourg, Stavanger (Norway), Thessaloniki (Greece), Tirana (Albania), Turin (Italy), and Umeå (Sweden) are among the twelve new destinations the airline is adding to its summer 2026 schedule. These new routes are in addition to the services to Alta, Catania, Florence, Kos, and Valencia that Finnair announced earlier this year.

To provide US travelers visiting Brussels, Paris, or Zurich with direct links to Finland's northernmost area, Finnair is expanding its services to Lapland from three European cities during the winter of 2026. Finnair offers daily, year-round flights from Helsinki to Lapland.

With these additions, AY's network will include 93 destinations in Europe, 11 in Asia, seven in North America (including Toronto, which opens in the summer of 2026), and two in the Middle East.

Comments from Finnair Official

“We are excited to tap into growth opportunities in the market, further strengthening our broad network of direct connections from our Helsinki hub,” said Javier Roig Sanchez, Finnair’s General Manager for North America. 

“The new European destinations also connect new markets to our long-haul network, providing improved connectivity to popular destinations for US travelers such as Greece, and to our expanding network of Nordic countries." 

New European Destinations 

Of the additional destinations across the pond, Umeå enhances AY's footprint in Sweden, while Stavanger extends the airline's Norway offering, with flights from Arlanda. The Ardennes draws both business and leisure travelers—Ahem… attention, hiking buffs —and Luxembourg expands FIr's vast network of European capitals.

Further, the most recent addition to Finnair's Mediterranean network is Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece and a gateway to the Greek islands. The airline has launched a new route to Tirana, an Albanian coastal town that is “growing rapidly.”

Kuressaare, an island in Estonia that is perfect for leisure travelers looking for natural experiences and a rich cultural legacy, expands AY's Baltic offerings.

To acquire capacity for these extra flights, the Finnish carrier will expand its wet-lease partnership with Danish Jettime.