The reason behind the sudden change in flight plans was that rehearsals are underway for next month’s Victory Day celebrations in Red Square, which includes rehearsals for a military air show.
But apparently Finnair had not received the information before departing for Moscow.
There were 56 passengers on board the Finnair Airbus A319 to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport which departed Helsinki at 9:25 this morning.
According to Finnair, after returning to Helsinki Airport, passengers were transferred to a later Moscow-bound flight.
In a statement, Finnair said that flights heading for Moscow later today will not be affected by Russian airspace restrictions.