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TRAVEL NEWS

Delays, cancellations: How Switzerland will be hit by the Lufthansa strike

German airline Lufthansa is set to go on strike on Wednesday, with several routes to and from Switzerland to be impacted, particularly those taking off from Zurich. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 27 July 2022 09:43 CEST
Several flights to and from Switzerland will be impacted by the strike. (Photo by MICHAEL BUHOLZER / AFP)
Several flights to and from Switzerland will be impacted by the strike. (Photo by MICHAEL BUHOLZER / AFP)

A strike on Wednesday by the ground crew of German airline Lufthansa, a codeshare partner and parent company of SWISS, will disrupt a dozen flights leaving from and scheduled to arrive in Switzerland.

Around 1,000 people are set to be directly impacted by the cancellations, Swiss airlines said on Tuesday afternoon. 

A total of 12 flights will be cancelled on the Zurich to Düsseldorf (three return flights) and Geneva to Frankfurt routes (also three return flights). Flights from Zurich to Munich will also be impacted.

As Frankfurt is a major connection hub for long-haul flights, SWISS recommends rebooking for another day.

“Swiss informs its passengers about the flight cancellations and asks them to look for possible alternatives”. 

“Should you still take your flight to Frankfurt or Munich without a confirmed alternative for the onward flight, there is a risk that you will not be able to continue your journey there for several hours or days ” SWISS said.

READ MORE : Airport chaos in Europe: Airlines cancel 15,000 flights in August

The strike action was announced for Wednesday, but unions have refused to rule out further strikes in the coming days. 

In total, around 1,000 flights will be cancelled, with 134,000 passengers impacted across Europe. 

Zurich airport particularly hard hit

While the impact of Covid saw the grounding of flights and a surge in the popularity of domestic travel, the world’s airports have roared back into life in 2022 – many to levels above the pandemic. 

As a result, airlines and airport authorities have struggled to keep up, with the consequence being cancelled flights, delays and lost luggage. 

The situation is particularly bad at Zurich Airport, which is Switzerland’s largest. 

Zurich Airport saw an increase of almost 250 percent compared to last year, while passenger levels are fast approaching the highs set before the pandemic. 

The following link provides an overview of the situation at Zurich Airport. 

Reader question: How bad is the situation at Zurich Airport?

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why you should not rely on trains to and from Switzerland this summer

Travellers are urged to switch from air to rail to protect the environment. But international train connections to and from Swiss cities will be derailed in the coming months.

Published: 10 May 2024 11:36 CEST
Why you should not rely on trains to and from Switzerland this summer

If you’re planning to go abroad by train this summer, arm yourself with patience.

The reason is the abundance of construction sites across Europe, which slow down, or disrupt altogether, the train schedule.

In Switzerland, railroad maintenance work is carried out at night in order not to disturb the daytime timetable. Some neighbouring countries, however, “have decided to completely close train lines for the duration of the works”, Swiss media reports.

As a result, train travel to and from Switzerland will be chaotic amid the summer holiday rush.

Let’s look at Italy first

One of the most popular vacation destinations for Swiss tourists will become less accessible in the coming months.

From June 9th, and for at least three months, the train service between Italian cities of Domodossola and Milan will be interrupted due to railway works, also disrupting travel between western Switzerland and Italy.

A bus service will run between the two cities, adding at least an hour to the trip in the best traffic conditions.

However, this plan is not acceptable to Swiss national railway company SBB.

“Given the scale of the work, we are considering setting up direct buses from Geneva and Lausanne to Milan via the Grand Saint-Bernard tunnel,” the company said. “We are planning around three buses in each direction every day.”

Italy’s inability to ensure smoother travel “is embarrassing”, according to Bruno Stormi, who sits on the Transport Committee in the Swiss parliament.

“When the freight train derailed in the Gotthard Base Tunnel last August, the SBB was able to reorganise the traffic within three days,” he pointed out.

The responsibility for the Domodossola – Milan disruption lies with Italy, “because the section concerned is operated by Trenitalia”, he added.

Another MP, Simon Stadler, also pointed out that “Switzerland is very dependent on foreign countries for international rail connections. Our room for maneuver is very limited in this area.”

And that brings us to France

The construction work under way north of the French city of Dijon will result, from August 13th to December 14th, in fewer TGV trains running from Monday to Friday from Zurich and Lausanne to Paris, and back.

Detours via Strasbourg will be possible on the line linking Zurich to Paris.

Germany and Austria

Those wishing to travel by train to Switzerland’s two other neighbour countries will also have a bumpy ride.

Due to construction, trains from Basel to Hamburg will be canceled from July 15th to December 14th.

The Zurich-Stuttgart line will also not be served continuously between August 3rd and September 6th.

Those travelling to Austria must seek their own solutions when the line between Buchs (SG) and Feldkirch will be closed from August 10th to September 9th. Replacement options are still being developed.
 
READ ALSO: Why a Swiss-EU deal could be bad news for train users in Switzerlan

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