Third SWISS repatriation flight from Israel arrives in Zurich

© Keystone / Ennio Leanza

Swiss International Airlines’ third special flight from Tel Aviv arrived as scheduled at Zurich airport on Thursday evening with 224 Swiss nationals on board. A fourth repatriation flight is scheduled for Friday.

This third special Swiss flight, using a 215-seat Airbus A321neo, landed in Zurich at 9.04pm, an airline spokesperson told press agency Keystone-ATS.

A total of 212 adults and children as well as 12 infants arrived in Zurich, the spokesperson added. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a total of 434 people had already been repatriated via two special flights.

While only two flights were initially planned, there will now be at least four. A new SWISS special flight will be organised on Friday in collaboration with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). It will take off from Zurich at 11:00 to pick up Swiss citizens in Israel and bring them back to Switzerland by 20:20.

The same 215-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft will be used, and procedures similar to the first three operations are planned. The flight can only be booked via an emergency line provided by the FDFA for Swiss citizens abroad and Swiss travellers in Israel.

SWISS pointed out that these special flights are subject to stricter security criteria than normal flights. Experts are constantly monitoring the situation in conjunction with the authorities.

Regular flights suspended

Scheduled SWISS flights to Tel Aviv, which have been suspended until further notice since last weekend, will not resume until October 22. The airline announced this decision on Thursday evening.

The suspension of flights affects all the airlines of the Lufthansa Group, SWISS’ parent company, the airline said. The safety of passengers and crew was the reason for cancelling flights. Tickets for flights to Tel Aviv scheduled between October 23 and 31 will also not be sold for the time being.

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