Porsches, Bentleys and a slew of other luxury cars with Russian license plates have started to be a noticeable presence at Helsinki's airport as Finland is concerned it has become a major transit country for Russian tourists hoping to get into Europe.

The EU has shut its airspace to Russian planes after Moscow launched its military campaign against Ukraine. That means Russians who want to travel to Europe now have to drive across the border into Finland or take a convoluted route using non-Western airlines.

As Russia's COVID-19 restrictions expired in July, Russian tourism has boomed, but this has led to growing backlash in Europe against allowing travelers in while the conflict continues.

So much so that now Finland, alongside several of Russia's other European neighbors, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, are considering a blanket ban on Russian tourists entering their countries if the EU does not enact a union-wide ban.

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A walk through Helsinki airport's car park is a testament to recent skyrocketing Russian tourist rates. AFP claims dozens if not hundreds of luxury cars with Russian licence plates now occupy many of its spaces, including a new Mercedes-Benz S-class sedan and Porsche 911 Turbo S.

EU decision

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that the Nordic nation has become a "transit country" for Russian tourists.

Finland said last week it would cut Russian tourist visas to 10 percent of current numbers from September 1 due to growing anger about such tourism amid the conflict. But Russians continue to arrive in Finland with visas issued by other EU countries in the Schengen travel area.

"They come here on Schengen visas issued by various different countries and then continue further via Helsinki airport," Haavisto said.

Around two-thirds of Russians crossing Finland's eastern border do so with a Schengen visa issued by a country other than Finland, according to an August survey from the Finnish border guard.

"Hungary, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece and Spain normally issue visas to Russians, and are generally among the top issuing countries each year," border guard official Mert Sasioglu said.

Schengen rules mean Finland is not allowed to close the border to specific nationalities, Haavisto said, with such sanctions only jointly negotiable by EU members.

"As Finland and the Baltic countries are planning to restrict these visas, it would be good if all EU countries took similar decisions," Haavisto said.

This sentiment was shared by many Finns at the airport. "There should be an EU decision to close the border," said Finnish traveller Jussi Hirvonen.

Finland is set to raise the issue at the next meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Czechia on August 30.

'Everybody should travel'

After Russia lifted its COVID-19 travel restrictions on July 15, the number of tourists leaving the country has surged.

While the numbers of Russian tourists heading to Finland are still well below pre-coronavirus levels, there were almost double the number of border crossings in July -  more than 230,000 -compared to June.

For many Russian travelers, the idea of not being able to travel to Europe is met with disappointment. "Everybody should travel, because when you see how other peaceful countries live then you become more peaceful too," said Pavel Alekhin, a 32-year-old Russian professional athlete on his way to Basel.

Russian traveler Vadim wan der Berg said the situation is "very difficult" for normal Russians, as many now lack the option to fly for work or studies.

"We're all waiting for this to stop and want a normal situation in the whole world, in our country and Ukraine too."

Blanket Russian ban?

The European Commission has said that discussions are underway to see if a "coordinated approach" on Russian visas could be reached. Eastern EU countries Latvia, Lithuania and Poland all stopped giving out new tourist visas to Russians shortly after the conflict started.

Estonia has gone a step further and is looking at stopping Russians who have visas delivered by other EU states. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed reservations about such restrictions.

"This is not the Russian people's war, it is Putin's war," Scholz pointed out. He said limiting tourist visas would also penalize "all the people who flee Russia because they disagree with the Russian regime."

Video editor: Terry Wilson