Due to an acute shortage of staff, the Swiss airline is further thinning out the 2022 summer flight schedule. In addition to the recently communicated and repeatedly extended cancellations, connections are now being removed from the flight plan up to and including October 2022.

Swiss is of the opinion that strikes at some airports in Europe and at some air traffic control services would further aggravate the situation with a view to the travel season in midsummer. The external factors that add to the home-made staff shortage are said to have “direct effects on the operational stability of Swiss”.

The management has decided that the flight offer will be further reduced in the period from August up to and including October 2022. “SWISS is thus countering the systemic industrial risk and helping to relieve its flight schedule and the overall system in Switzerland. This minimizes the risk of short-notice cancellations or flight plan changes. The cancellations of around 2 percent of the planned flight program are due to further reductions in frequencies," said the Lufthansa subsidiary in a media statement.

You will also not fly between Vienna and Zurich yourself. According to the company, these are to be carried out by the Austrian sister company Austrian Airlines until the end of the 2022/23 winter flight schedule. Of the 31.414 flights planned for the period from August to October, Swiss is canceling 676 flights.

Depending on the route, the flight plan adjustments may also have an impact on cargo capacity. In order to reduce possible effects, the Lufthansa subsidiary is examining the selective implementation of pure cargo flights.

“The complex aviation system in Europe and worldwide is currently at the operational limit. In view of the worsening framework conditions and in order to do justice to our responsibility towards our passengers in a forward-looking manner, we will make this contribution to relieving the burden on the entire system. We very much regret the further flight plan adjustments that have become necessary and expressly apologize to the passengers affected and our partners for the inconvenience caused. Swiss will be able to offer the majority of affected passengers an alternative for the same day of travel," says company boss Dieter Vranckx.