Finnair has been forced to ground eight Airbus A321 aircraft after the airline was alerted to safety concerns over approximately 1,700 seat covers.
On October 22, 2025, the Finnish flag carrier announced that it had been informed by the original seat cover manufacturer that the “impact of washing on the fire protection of the seat covers had not been verified in the required manner”.
Finnair subsequently pulled the eight affected aircraft from service, resulting in the cancellation of around 70 flights, affecting the travel plans of around 11,000 customers.
According to Finnair, it was originally alerted to the issue on October 13, 2025, and expects the eight A321s to be back in service by the end of the month. The first aircraft has already resumed operations.
Pekka Korhonen, SVP Technical Operations at Finnair, said: “We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption this has caused our customers. The safe operation of our flights is the foundation of everything we do. Once we received information that the impact of washing on the fire protection of the seat covers had not been verified in the required manner, it was clear that the aircraft had to remain on the ground until the issue was resolved.”
The airline has said that the affected seat covers were manufactured by a long-standing Finnair partner, based on specifications provided by the original seat manufacturer.
“The covers have been washed in accordance with the information received from the original seat manufacturer,” a spokesperson for Finnair explained. “Seats are typically washed every two years. Washing is a standard cleaning method for aircraft seats and is used across the rest of Finnair’s fleet.”
New seat covers from multiple suppliers are now being installed to allow the aircraft to return to service. In the meantime, Finnair has leased two aircraft with crew to operate part of its network.
