SWISS cancels hundreds of flights this summer due to pilot shortage

A total of 326 flights will be cancelled, a SWISS spokesperson confirmed to the news agency AWP on Wednesday. Keystone-SDA

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights this summer due to a shortage of cockpit staff as well as technical and structural bottlenecks.

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A total of 326 flights will be cancelled, a SWISS spokesperson told the AWP news agency on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by the industry online site Aerotelegraph. The cuts will affect around 0.4% of the airline’s total flight offer.

The problem has improved since last year when 1,400 flights had to be cancelled between April and October, or 1.5% of the total number of flights.

SWISS, a Lufthansa subsidiary, is targeting labour-intensive long-haul routes, for example with reduced frequencies to Chicago and Shanghai.

Eleven aircraft with engine problems

SWISS has a shortage of captains and co-pilots for the Airbus A320 and A321 planes, as well as the A330 and A340, which are also tied up due to retraining for the new Airbus A350. In addition, eleven aircraft have been grounded due to engine problems, which complicates operational planning.

+ SWISS turnover and profit hits turbulence

According to the airline, the training and retraining of cockpit personnel takes months, and short-term solutions are not really possible due to contractual requirements and the current career model. SWISS described the cancellations as a “last resort”.

In contrast to the cockpit staff, the airline currently has a surplus of cabin crews – up to 300 flight attendants too many in certain periods. As a result, it has introduced corrective measures including a lump-sum bonus of up to CHF15,000 offered to full-time cabin crew members who resign voluntarily.

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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