The Embraer 170 of the Austrian regional airline People's, which was en route from Palma de Mallorca to St. Gallen-Altenrhein on Monday afternoon (May 12, 2025), was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Zurich due to a technical problem, according to the news portal vol.at. The aircraft had previously circled the Lake Constance region several times before the crew decided to head for the larger Zurich Airport.
The reason given for the diversion landing was that the runway in Altenrhein was too short for the given conditions. The landing in Zurich proceeded without complications, and all passengers on board remained uninjured. After landing in Zurich, the passengers were able to disembark the aircraft safely.
People's Airlines, headquartered at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, operates scheduled and charter flights. Zurich Airport is the largest in Switzerland and has three runways of varying lengths, making it more suitable for unscheduled landings than the regional Altenrhein Airport. The incident underscores the importance of safety precautions and the flight crew's ability to make decisions in such situations.
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