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How SWISS is expanding flight connections this year

The Swiss airline has unveiled its new 2023/2024 winter timetable which sees the introduction of new destinations and increased frequencies on existing routes.

Published: 30 May 2023 17:12 CEST
How SWISS is expanding flight connections this year
White and Red Airplane on Airport

The Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) fleet will now take off from Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport and head to 68 short and medium-haul destinations – a broader selection than in the previous winter period. The move, the airline says, comes in response to the continuing strong demand for air travel.

“We are pleased to be offering the many people who are currently showing such a strong desire to travel an even broader range of routes and services in our coming winter schedules,” said SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. “And, in doing so, to be continuing on our present path of steady and stable growth.”

Moreover, SWISS is significantly reducing the number of so-called ‘wet-lease flights’ during the coming winter with the aim of halving the number of flights operated by both Air Baltic and Helvetic Airways on behalf of the airline during the winter months.

The 2023/2024 winter timetable period will run from October 29th, 2023, to March 30th, 2024.

Zurich Airport

Passengers travelling via Zurich Airport will be pleased to know that SWISS will be offering a total of 63 short and medium-haul destinations in its coming winter schedules, which is four more than in the 2022/2023 winter timetable.

The airline has reintroduced flights from Zurich to Bremen in Northern Germany aimed at both leisure and business travellers, with flights leaving Zurich Airport four times each week. SWISS previously offered flights to Bremen in its winter 2018/2019 timetable, however, the flights were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to Bremen, SWISS will also increase its flights from Zurich to several German cities, with six more weekly flights to Düsseldorf, four more to Hamburg and an additional two to Hanover (compared to winter 2022/2023).

Similarly, the airline will take off for Prague and Bucharest seven and five additional times each week, respectively.

Furthermore, the airline will also resume its Zurich-Vienna route with three flights a day headed to the Austrian capital. The route will also be operated by Austrian Airlines with multiple daily flights.

The SWISS fleet will also fly to Portugal more frequently this winter, with Lisbon receiving 14 weekly flights from Zurich and Porto now being served up to 11 times per week.

Other destinations which will see exceptionally frequent SWISS service from Zurich this winter include Berlin (52 weekly flights), Barcelona (28 weekly flights), Amsterdam (28 weekly flights) and Athens (19 weekly flights).

Geneva Airport

Passengers travelling with SWISS via Geneva Airport will be able to travel to 21 short- and medium-haul destinations from the airport in the coming winter schedules.

Those heading to London, Lisbon, Porto, and Athens will be especially spoiled for choice while the airline’s service to Hamburg, which was introduced this summer, will also be resume with four weekly frequencies this winter.

SWISS will further offer attractive services to Geneva from the UK and Scandinavia that are particularly aimed at vacationers looking to travel to popular Swiss winter sport destinations.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why is Switzerland going to collect a database of flight passengers?

Twenty years after the US began sharing a database of those flying in and out of the country in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Switzerland is set to follow suit - but not without some outside pressure. 

Published: 16 May 2024 15:51 CEST
Why is Switzerland going to collect a database of flight passengers?

Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems are databases that operate by flagging and tracking individuals who may pose a security risk. 

The data includes the name, destination, means of payment, and type of baggage for each passenger arriving or leaving a country via its airports. 

Until now, Switzerland has not participated in a PNR system in a way that allows data to be freely accessible to partners such as the EU and the US. 

Indeed, for years, it has been possible to circumvent the EU’s PNR systems by flying into Switzerland and crossing a land border with the EU. 

Now, however, Switzerland is being forced to comply. 

The United States has threatened Switzerland’s place in their Visa Waiver Program unless they share data. 

Similarly, the EU has applied significant diplomatic pressure to join their efforts – and considerable progress has already occurred, with agreements signed. 

Other countries have also signalled that Swiss carriers may withdraw their landing rights or impose heavy fines if Switzerland does not begin participating in a compliant PNR system. 

Changes in effect 2026

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Beat Jans announced at a press conference that a PNR program that worked in collaboration with other countries would come into effect in 2026. 

The reason given for the length of time it would take to go into effect was that a legal basis for the move does not yet exist in Swiss law—a dispatch on proposed legislation has only just been sent to the Federal Council.

Once passed by the Federal Council and then by the Council of States, the federal police will be responsible for tracking passengers via a new group – the Passenger Information Unit (PIU). 

The PIU will examine passenger manifests a day before and immediately before flights taking off or landing and compare them to shared lists of individuals involved in terrorism, organised crime, or who have committed violent crimes. 

If there is a match, information will be forwarded to authorities at the relevant airport.  

Privacy concerns 

Understandably, for the privacy-conscious Swiss, concerns have been raised. 

Both the right-wing SVP, the Greens and the SPD have voiced doubts about the security and privacy of passenger data. 

In response, the government has announced that all passenger data except for that relates to those linked to terrorist groups will be deleted after six months. 

To further ease concerns, Switzerland’s PNR system will be constantly monitored by the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act.

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