SWISS Halts Flights to Beirut, Avoids Iranian Airspace Amid Middle East Tensions

Monday, April 15, 2024

Following a recent detailed assessment of the Middle East situation, SWISS has temporarily halted its flights to and from Beirut, including the Zurich-Beirut flight scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, through Thursday, April 18. The closure of airspace over Israel, Jordan, and Iraq from Saturday night to Sunday has been lifted, allowing our flights to resume operations in these areas.

Additionally, SWISS will continue to avoid Iranian airspace until the following Thursday. This detour is extending flight durations between Zurich and Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi, and Mumbai by up to 90 minutes.

Flights to and from Tel Aviv are also suspended through Monday, April 15.

We are actively monitoring developments in the region with our team of specialists, who are in constant and direct communication with relevant local and Swiss authorities. Decisions to restart any suspended flights will be based on this ongoing evaluation.

We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause our customers. We are reaching out to travelers affected by the Tel Aviv flight suspensions to offer a free rebooking to a later date or a full refund.

“Following the events of last night, we are relieved and thankful to report that our employees in Tel Aviv are safe and well,” says Oliver Buchhofer, Head of Operations at SWISS. SWISS has seven employees in Tel Aviv, who are responsible for servicing our aircraft and handling our flights. “We are in constant contact with our local personnel, and are looking into how we can best protect and support them should the situation deteriorate further,” Buchhofer continues. “At SWISS, the safety of our people and our passengers always has paramount priority.”

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• SWISS Set to Resume Overflights in Iranian Airspace and Flights to Beirut