Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) says it will suspend its Helsinki Vantaa-Chongqing, China route for the period January 11, 2017 to May 2, 2017 next year citing a lack of available flight crews to man its A330-300 widebody aircraft.

The Finnish carrier said in a statement that during the suspension, its A330 flight crews would be away to train and secure their A350 type ratings thereby creating a shortage of available personnel.

"Finnair is preparing to grow its operations as the deliveries of Airbus A350 aircraft will continue in 2017, and this requires Airbus A350 training for Finnair’s A330 pilots," it said.

For the same reason, Finnair is already leasing in an A340-300 from Hi Fly (5K, Beja) to cover its Helsinki Vantaa-New York JFK route over the period November 3, 2016 to January 8, 2017.