Kela Director General Lasse Lehtonen at a Kela media event in Helsinki on 13 November 2025. Photo: Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva
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Lasse Lehtonen, the Director General of Finland’s Social Insurance Institution (Kela), was escorted from a Brussels airport gate by Belgian police on Friday after he failed to present a valid boarding pass for a Finnair flight to Helsinki.
According to multiple eyewitnesses interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat, Lehtonen appeared unwell and struggled to walk. Belgian police confirmed to HS that airport security had requested police assistance at gate A45, where a Finnish citizen displaying signs of confusion had attempted to board a flight without a ticket.
After a short, calm discussion, the passenger was taken to the airport’s medical station.
Police did not confirm the passenger’s identity, but several , his name was not on the guest list for Finland’s Independence Day celebrations at the Presidential Palace on Saturday, indicating no immediate return travel was planned.
By Saturday morning, Lehtonen was still in Brussels. Kela board chair Vertti Kiukas said he was able to reach Lehtonen via messages but did not receive detailed explanations. “I don’t know exactly when he will return to Finland,” Kiukas told Ilta-Sanomat. “Others are handling his travel arrangements.”
Lehtonen has been on sick leave since Monday, which was confirmed by Kiukas earlier in the week. “He is, as I understand it, both on sick leave and on a work trip,” he said.
On Thursday last week, the Kela Supervisory Board held an extraordinary meeting to discuss internal management practices following public criticism of Lehtonen’s leadership and remote work policies. The Kela Board has since commissioned an external investigator to assess the agency’s leadership structure.
A person close to Lehtonen told both HS and Ilta-Sanomat that the incident was linked to a medical condition and not alcohol or intoxication. The same , Lehtonen is seen being accompanied by police officers through Brussels Airport on Friday. By Friday evening, his location was still unknown to Kela board members. The same evening, Kiukas said he was unable to reach Lehtonen and had only been informed through official channels that the work trip had been disrupted.
Lehtonen remains on sick leave until Sunday. His return to duties will depend on the outcome of Monday’s board meeting, which is expected to focus on recent developments and questions of trust.
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
