Given the Tightening of travel restrictions imposed by the Swiss Federal Council since 1 FebruarySwiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is temporarily reducing its flight operations to Geneva. The measure will be in force until the end of February.
This decision was motivated by the fact that Swiss operates a model known as 'point-to-point. This does not generate additional demand on connecting flights such as in Zurich.
Swiss also argues that Geneva does not have the infrastructure to carry out covid tests on its airport premises. However, the airport management rejects this argument. Genève-Cointrin believes that the presence ofa test centre in the terminal would not have made any real difference to this decision.
A Covid rapid test centre coming soon to the airport
"It's the whole context of restrictions that is causing such a collapse. Swiss is reducing its flights in the same proportion as its competitors," explains the airport's general management. It adds thata test centre at covid will open its doors in the coming days on the platform.
From Geneva, Swiss continues to serve its Zurich hub and the hub Lufthansa Frankfurt. The carrier operates 13 flights a week to Zurich and one daily flight to Frankfurt. The carrier says it is keen to ensure that the French-speaking part of Switzerland remains linked to its global network. Until January, Swiss offered flights from Cointrin to half a dozen destinations.
However, the carrier is reassuring. not to call into question its strategy to secure the future of its Geneva hub. "Geneva is and will remain an extremely important hub for Swiss. As soon as conditions permit and demand for air travel picks up again, we will gradually expand our services from Geneva and Zurich," says Dieter Vranckx, CEO of Swiss.
In Zurich, most continental and intercontinental routes will be maintained, but on reduced frequencies. In February, Swiss is only offering 10 %s in its 2019 flight schedule.
Passengers whose flights have been cancelled can rebook or have their tickets refunded free of charge.
