Pandemic-driven layoffs of airport winter maintenance personnel led to reductions in ice control at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport – and to an accident in which a Finnair Airbus A350 slid off a slippery taxiway, according to the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland.
In a report issued Nov. 10 on the Feb. 21, 2021, accident, the authority said the cargo airplane was taxiing for departure on a flight to Tokyo when it slid partially off the taxiway and collided with a taxiway sign. The report did not discuss other damage, if any, or injuries that may have resulted from the accident.
“A factor in the incident was the cutting of airport winter maintenance staff by around 50 percent in late 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic and decline in tr…
