Swiss starts flying again

Swiss International Air Lines has been able to fly again to most of its destinations since 2pm on Wednesday, according to an airline spokesman.

The only destinations still in doubt are Warsaw and Stockholm. Long-haul flights were leaving normally.

However, the company warned that delays were still possible, and passengers should consult the airline website for details.

Earlier, spokesman Jean-Claude Donzel had said the situation remained a major challenge since the open and closed status of some of Europe’s airspace was changing regularly.

During the morning, the company had to cancel about 80 flights out of 400, bound for destinations in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland.

Switzerland reopened its airspace at 8am on Tuesday, after banning all flights for five days as a result of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the crisis caused by the volcanic eruption has so far cost airlines more than $1.7 billion (SFr1.81 billion) in lost revenue.

“At the worst, the crisis impacted 29 per cent of global aviation and affected 1.2 million passengers a day,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General.

swissinfo.ch and agencies