Symbolic meaning: Switzerland blocks Southwind Airlines

Switzerland has now formally joined the ban on the Turkish holiday airline Southwind Airlines, which was previously initiated by Finland, the EU and the United Kingdom.

For geographical reasons, however, this only has symbolic meaning, because the Confederation is - apart from Liechtenstein - completely surrounded by EU territory. Since the airspace of the European Union is closed to Southwind Airlines, the planes of the Turkish carrier, which is accused of having connections to the Russian Nordwind Airlines, would not have been able to reach Switzerland anyway.

According to a statement from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, the previously granted approval for the 2024 summer flight schedule submitted by Southwind Airlines was officially canceled. This means that the Antalya flights planned from Zurich-Kloten will definitely fall through. However, the effects are likely to be very limited, as only two weekly circulations, which were planned from May 2, 2024, should have been carried out anyway.