Finnish air traffic control reroutes Chinese flights due to drone attack near St. Petersburg

Finnish air navigation service provider Fintraffic has rerouted several Chinese passenger flights through Finnish airspace following a drone attack near St. Petersburg, state broadcaster Yle reports.

In a statement to Yle, Fintraffic confirmed that an increased number of flights from China have entered Finnish airspace in early 2024. The agency’s area control center is ensuring their safe rerouting, providing standard air traffic management services.

Normally, these flights travel from China over southern St. Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland toward Central Europe. However, air traffic around St. Petersburg was disrupted early Sunday after a drone strike triggered air defense activity in Russia’s Leningrad region.

Local governor Aleksandr Drozdenko reported that air defense systems downed 19 drones in the area. As a result, multiple flights—including several departing from Shanghai—crossed Finland’s eastern border near Joensuu before continuing westward to Central Europe.