1,400 summer flights cancelled as Swiss cuts operations for 5 months

Swiss carrier is removing 1.5 pc of its scheduled departures over the next five months

Swiss International Airlines has announced the cancellation of over 1,400 flights from its schedule between now and October. The reduction is expected to affect tens of thousands of passengers and lead to increased demand for seats on alternative carriers, amid similar cutbacks by other airlines.

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Due to a shortage of pilots and related operational challenges, Swiss International Airlines, a member of Lufthansa Group, has announced the cancellation of over 1,400 flights from its schedule between now and October.

As per a report, the Swiss carrier is removing 1.5 pc of its scheduled departures over the next five months. Around 12 pc of these cancellations affect routes between the United Kingdom and Switzerland from London, Manchester, and Edinburgh. This is likely to increase demand for short-haul flights on carriers such as British Airways and EasyJet. Long-haul services to Shanghai and Chicago are also impacted.

The airline says its priority is to rebook passengers onto the next best alternative Swiss flight. If this is not possible, they will be moved to other airlines within the Lufthansa Group.

As per the report, this situation forms part of a wider crisis in the European aviation sector. According to reports, major airlines such as Aer Lingus, TAP Portugal, Air France, Swiss, Finnair, Ryanair, Lufthansa, KLM, British Airways, EasyJet, Iberia, ITA Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Wizz Air, Vueling, Eurowings and many other major European airlines are grappling with a wave of massive cancellations and flight delays.

The report also states that 37 pc of TAP Portugal flights landed more than 15 minutes late, 77,000 Ryanair flights were delayed, and EasyJet experienced around 26,600 delays. Between them, British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa have cancelled over 6,000 flights in 2025 so far.

In addition to pilot shortages, weather events such as Storm Éowyn in January and heavy snow in Germany also affected schedules. Technical and logistical problems have also contributed, including a March fire at London Heathrow that closed the airport for around 16 hours, cancelling about 1,300 flights and affecting nearly 300,000 passengers, as well as a power outage over the Iberian Peninsula in April.