SWISS cancels flights to Russia until end of March
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will not fly to Russia with immediate effect until the end of March. It said it had taken the decision owing to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Until now, SWISS flew five times a week from Zurich to Moscow and twice from Geneva to Moscow, as well as once from Geneva to St Petersburg. Passengers affected will be informed of the cancellation, the airline said on Monday.
SWISS will also no longer use Russian airspace until further notice. This will lead to longer flight times between Zurich and Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing.
SWISS said it is closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with the Swiss and international authorities, as well as its parent company Lufthansa, for operational decisions. On Saturday Lufthansa announced that it would no longer fly to or over Russia.
On Monday the Swiss government announced that, in line with airspace closures in other European countries, Swiss airspace was closed to all flights from Russia and to all movements of aircraft with Russian markings with the exception of flights for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic purposes.
The EU has imposed a blanket flight ban on Russian planes. “We are shutting down EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. All such planes, including the private jets of oligarchs, will now be unable to land in, take off from or fly over any EU nation.
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