On Thursday, June 18, 2026, the Chinese airline China Eastern Airlines officially launched its new scheduled service to Switzerland.
The inaugural flight from the eastern Chinese economic metropolis of Shanghai landed on schedule at 7:49 a.m. local time at Zurich Airport. This new route significantly expands the range of nonstop connections between Switzerland and the People's Republic of China. The connection strengthens bilateral infrastructure and optimizes the transport of goods and passengers to one of the most dynamic industrial regions on the Asian continent.
The Asian airline, a member of the global SkyTeam alliance, will now operate the route between its hub in Shanghai-Pudong and Zurich three times a week. Flights are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The flight departs Zurich in the early afternoon at 14:05 p.m., arriving in Shanghai at 06:40 a.m. the following morning. The return flight departs China in the middle of the night at 01:55 a.m. and reaches Switzerland at 07:55 a.m. the same morning. Modern wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A350-900 or Boeing 787-9 will be used on this long-haul route.
Shanghai is currently the only direct destination on the Chinese mainland served by non-stop flights from Zurich Airport. The financial and commercial hub attracts not only business travelers but also a large number of leisure and cultural tourists. Until now, the national airline, Swiss International Air Lines, held a monopoly on this direct connection. The market entry of China Eastern Airlines breaks this exclusivity and leads to a significant increase in capacity on the route, which is welcomed by freight forwarders and business associations due to the improved cargo capacity in the lower deck of passenger aircraft.
The granting of traffic rights is part of efforts to fully normalize air traffic between Europe and Asia following the global crises. The addition of the state-owned Chinese airline enhances Zurich Airport's attractiveness as a continental hub. Passengers from Switzerland and the adjacent regions of southern Germany and western Austria will also benefit from simplified access to China Eastern's extensive domestic network, which, via its hub in Shanghai, offers far-reaching connections to all provinces of the People's Republic as well as to the Asia-Pacific region.