SWISS special flight from Oman lands in Zurich

Swiss special flight from Oman lands in Zurich with 211 passengers Keystone-SDA

A special flight operated by Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) from Oman landed in Zurich on Thursday afternoon. On board the fully booked aircraft were Swiss travellers returning from the crisis region.

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The aircraft, flight number LX7043, landed in Zurich at 2:40 pm, as can be seen on the Zurich Airport website. With this flight, SWISS wants to make a contribution to helping those affected by the difficult situation, as the airline wrote in a press release.

The special flight took off from Muscat in Oman on Thursday morning. According to SWISS, there were 211 passengers on board – 205 adults and six children. These were people who already had a SWISS ticket and were unable to travel due to the current situation, as well as Swiss nationals who had registered with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) as travelling to Oman.

Within less than 48 hours, around 40 employees had made this flight possible, SWISS wrote. A mechanic was also on board. In addition, a container with important spare parts was loaded in the cargo hold as a precaution so that the crew could act independently in the event of any technical work in Muscat. “The crew was thus prepared for many things that a mission like this can entail,” wrote SWISS.

Thousands of Swiss nationals are still stranded in various Gulf states following the US-Israeli offensive against Iran. Around 5,200 people have registered in the FDFA’s Travel Admin app.

SWISS cancels further flights

SWISS also announced on Thursday that it had cancelled further flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv. Due to the tense situation in the Middle East, it has cancelled flights to Dubai until March 10 and those to Tel Aviv until March 22. It had originally cancelled flights to Dubai until (tomorrow) Friday and those to Tel Aviv until Sunday.

The safety of its crews and passengers is the top priority at all times, which was why it decided to suspend the flights.

SWISS intends to resume flights as soon as the safety situation allows. At the same time, according to the company, it is continuously examining whether additional or alternative flight options are possible. However, this is always subject to a stable and safe overall situation and co-operation from local authorities.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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