SWISS has cancelled 1,400 flights for the summer season until October 2025, a total of 1.5% of its scheduled departures, due to a shortage of pilots. This will not only affect critical long-haul routes but also flights within their European network.
Which routes are affected?
SWISS (Swiss International Air Lines), a member of the Lufthansa Group, will be cancelling 1,400 flights until October 2025. The cancellations will affect long-haul flights such as to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is a vital transatlantic link for the airline, and also flights within its European network.
This huge cut to departure flights will be critical as we enter the peak travel season with increased tourism across Europe and North America. The airlines’ Zurich to Chicago route is being cut in half in September and October. This route is important not only for leisure travel but also for business travel. The cuts are likely to have a follow on effect for passengers who use Chicago as a connection hub to get to Europe but also on the airlines’ codeshare partnerships, alliance partners, and feeder traffic through both airports.
Reasons for the cancellations
There may be several causes that have facilitated this cut, though the primary reason is a shortage of pilots. This shortage is attributed to over-optimistic internal planning assumptions, a new collective labour agreement which reduced pilots’ working hours, an accumulation of parental and sick leave, and ongoing training for the Airbus A350 fleet.
The blend of these factors has stretched the airlines’ resources resulting in the large number of cancelled flights this summer. Although SWISS plans to hire more pilots annually, it’s not yet known whether this will aid in the shortage they are currently facing. SWISS is not the only airline to cancel flights this year, and with increasing strikes across Europe more disruptions to summer flights are likely.
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