Switzerland’s flagship airline SWISS has announced plans to slash 1,400 flights until October 2025.
The reason for this drastic move, especially during the peak summer travel season, is an acute shortage of cockpit personnel and some aircraft as well.
“On short-haul routes, we have enough Airbus A320 aircraft, but too few pilots. For the A220, we have enough cockpit crew, but there is a shortage of aircraft, partly due to the engine problem,” said Oliver Buchhofer, the airline’s Chief Operating Officer.
The technical problem that Buchhofer referred to stems from the emergency landing that a SWISS A220 aircraft from Bucharest to Zurich, with 74 passengers and five crew aboard, had to make in Graz Austria in December 2024.
One flight attendant later died from his injuries, and the cause of the problem was found to be a severe damage in the aircraft’s left engine.
Which flights will be cancelled or cut?
In terms of long-haul flights, the one from Zurich to Chicago will be particularly affected — their number will be halved from September 1st to October 25th.
Instead of twice, it will serve the route only once daily with a Boeing 777-300 ER.
“This is due to the currently challenging situation regarding the scheduling of our pilots,” SWISS spokesperson said.
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Unfortunately, attempts to get help from the parent company Lufthansa or through leases from other codeshare airlines have also been unsuccessful.
“We’ve already exhausted all possibilities,” Buchhofer said.
