Finnair has grounded eight Airbus A321 aircraft due to unapproved seat cleaning methods.

• Finnair was forced to cancel around 40 flights on Monday and Tuesday evenings due to an issue with the cleaning method used on aircraft seats.
• These cancellations will affect approximately 5,000 Finnair customers.
• The Finnish airline reported that the passenger seat covers on several aircraft were washed in violation of the manufacturer's recommendations, which could have affected their fire resistance. 
• Finnair is currently conducting the necessary tests to confirm compliance with fire safety requirements. 

Finnair canceled 40 flights, including to Warsaw and Krakow, kept on canceling flights on Tuesday. The reason is that seats were washed contrary to instructions, which poses a fire safety risk.

As per the Finnish airline, during the airworthiness inspection, it was discovered that the passenger seat covers in the cabin of these aircraft had been washed with water, and the impact of this cleaning method on fire protection had not been properly confirmed.

Finnair's Communications Manager Mari Kanerva said on Monday that the canceled flights concern eight aircraft in the fleet, whose operations have been temporarily suspended due to the situation.

As part of the airworthiness monitoring, it was discovered that the passenger seat covers of the aircraft models in question had been washed with water, and the effect of this cleaning method on the fire protection of the covers has not been verified in an appropriate manner, says Kanerva.

The company has canceled a total of about 40 flights on Monday and Tuesday. According to the company's communications, the majority of the canceled flights are today's flights. 

The decision to suspend flights caught thousands of passengers by surprise and paralyzed several European routes.

Kanerva added that the cancellations will affect the travel plans of approximately 5,000 customers.

This is of course an unfortunate situation for our customers and we regret the inconvenience that the flight cancellations cause to our customers, Kanerva apologizes.

"Naturally, we are currently in the autumn holiday season, so the choice of alternative flights may be limited, and we regret this situation," emphasized Finnair's Head of Communications, Mari Kanerva.

The issue affected eight Airbus A320 family aircraft, whose seat covers had been cleaned for a long time using a water-based cleaning agent. The fabric manufacturer only recently expressed concern, emphasizing that this method had not been fire-safety tested.

While the seat cleaning issue may seem minor, its consequences are serious. The Finnish airline must now conduct a full safety inspection of all Airbus A320 aircraft before returning to its normal flight schedule.

Finnair said, it strives to communicate flight cancellations directly to passengers who have booked flights and to find replacement flights for them.