A strong bise wind, a cold and dry northeast wind typical of Switzerland, caused significant disruption to flight operations at Zurich Airport on Friday. The unusual wind direction necessitated the use of a modified runway configuration.
Numerous flights were delayed by up to three hours. By early afternoon, at least 32 Swiss flights, including some connections operated by airBaltic and Helvetic Airlines, had to be canceled, mainly to and from major European cities. Return flights were particularly affected.
Among the canceled return flights were connections to Brussels, Nice, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hanover, Bologna, London Heathrow (twice), Hamburg, Frankfurt (twice), Florence, Graz, Amsterdam, and Budapest. The bise wind, caused by a special weather pattern with high pressure in the north and low pressure in the south, channeled between the Jura and the Alps, significantly impacted air traffic in Zurich.
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