The exceptional circumstances of 2020 showed in consular assistance

NordenBladet — In 2020, the Unit for Consular Assistance provided nearly twice as much guidance compared to the previous year. In the spring, during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, personal guidance and advice were given to tens of thousands of travellers stranded abroad. Thousands of travellers were assisted in returning to Finland after air traffic ground to a sudden halt.According to the statistics for 2020, Finland’s missions provided services to approximately 176,000 customers, nearly double that of the previous year. The increased number of contacts was also felt at the Foreign Ministry’s on-call centre, which received over 12,000 calls or emails over the year, busiest being March and April. Similar to previous years, most of the services consisted of guidance provided to customers.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi