Do., Okt. 12th 2023
The airline Swiss will not operate regular flights to Tel Aviv until and including Sunday October 22.
Not affected by the decision are special flights in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, with which the airline brings Swiss citizens home from Israel.
Swiss had already temporarily suspended regular flights to Tel Aviv last weekend due to the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. On Thursday evening, it now informed in a communiqué about the extension of the measure.
The suspension of flights affects all airlines of Swiss parent company Lufthansa Group, according to the media release. The safety of passengers and crew members is Swiss’ top priority, it said.
Tickets for flights to Tel Aviv scheduled between Oct. 23 and Oct. 31 will also not be sold for the time being, according to the statement.
The airline Swiss will fly to Tel Aviv and back for the fourth time on Friday in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry. This flight, following the terrorist attack on Israel by Islamist Hamas, can also be booked exclusively through a special hotline announced by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to Swiss abroad.
As Swiss announced on Thursday, the fourth special flight will depart from Zurich at 11 a.m. on Friday. The return flight is expected to land in Zurich at 8:20 p.m. Swiss will use an Airbus A321neo, which has 215 seats.
A third special flight carrying 224 people – 212 adults and children and twelve babies – landed at Zurich-Kloten Airport shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday evening.
Already in a first evacuation flight, 224 people had been flown to Switzerland late Tuesday evening. A second special flight with 215 people followed on Wednesday evening.
Around 550 people who have a connection to Switzerland are still registered on the “Travel Admin” app. The FDFA says it is aware of travelers who were able to leave independently on other flights.
©Keystone/SDA
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