In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the airline has replaced midday flights to the two cities with coach services.
Finnair's director, Perttu Jolma, said the low passenger volumes mean the flights produce more carbon dioxide emissions per passenger than many other short routes in the network, making road and rail transport the more sustainable link between these cities and Helsinki Airport.
The flights are scheduled flight times of approximately 35 minutes, with the actual flight time 10 minutes shorter.
Globally, flights as short as these are usually not flown except for regions where the terrain is rough and the flights go over a sea area or mountainous terrain, for example, the airline said in a press release.
Minna Arve NCP, the local mayor of Turku, told YLE on Wednesday that she was stunned by the short-sighted decision even though the flights had clearly been of secondary importance to the airline for several years.
The flights have often been cancelled and trust in the company has eroded for a long time, she said. We at Turku Airport have good connections with Air Baltic, Wizz Air and SAS. The move from Turku to Helsinki is mainly due to transfer connections.
This is a very short-sided position to take specifically in the sense that Finland is an island. We have limited connections to Europe, and we are far away from the world. We are now strengthening our Western connections, also from other localities than Helsinki, he said. In that sense discussion about the profitability of short flights is probably misguided, she said of Helsinki Airport, which is very important for the growing urban areas.