Newsbrief: Flight operations during severe weather

28.08.2026 SWISS Newsbrief 2 (Update): Flight operations during severe weather

By late afternoon, we had been forced to cancel a total of 85 flights that were scheduled to operate from or to Zurich today. Around 11,200 of our passengers are affected, which we deeply regret. Numerous other flights are experiencing delays of up to three hours, and in individual cases even longer. We currently cannot rule out further flight cancellations over the course of the evening.

Oliver Buchhofer, Chief Operating Officer of SWISS:

“Thousands of passengers are bearing the consequences of an extraordinarily difficult operational situation today. Our shared goal now must be to reduce these impacts as quickly as possible. This requires close coordination among all system partners and a willingness to make consistent use of the operational options available to us. SWISS, Zurich Airport and Skyguide share a responsibility here toward our passengers.”

SWISS flight operations continue to be significantly affected by the current weather conditions. Repeated thunderstorms and lightning in the region have led to several so-called “handling stops” at Zurich Airport today. During these stops, work on the apron must be temporarily suspended for safety reasons. During this time, aircraft cannot, among other things, be loaded or unloaded, refueled or prepared for their next flight.

Delays build up toward the evening

The thunderstorms are at times severely restricting the number of possible takeoffs and landings. In addition, there are significantly longer taxi times at the airport as well as weather-related restrictions in Swiss airspace and in the airspace of neighboring countries, including Germany and France.

The effects of these restrictions accumulate throughout the day: If one flight is delayed, the subsequent flight scheduled to be operated by the same aircraft will also depart later. Toward the evening, more and more of these delays that have built up throughout the day converge and create an operational bottleneck.

SWISS covers costs for passengers

We are very aware that behind the approximately 11,200 affected passengers are just as many travel plans that are not unfolding as planned today. As usual in such situations, we as the airline cover all necessary costs incurred by our passengers. These include hotel accommodations until the next available onward flight, meals in the meantime, as well as necessary taxi rides or phone calls.

Our passengers can subsequently submit the relevant receipts to our Customer Service team. We will then take care of reimbursing these costs as quickly and straightforwardly as possible.

Teams working at full speed

Our employees continue to do everything they can to keep flight operations as stable as possible under these difficult conditions. Numerous teams are working at full speed to mitigate the impact on our passengers as much as possible – work that will continue well into the night.

Together with Skyguide and Zurich Airport, we hope to gradually stabilize the situation over the course of the evening, and we thank our passengers for their patience and understanding.

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28.08.2026 SWISS Newsbrief: Flight operations during severe weather

Due to the weather conditions, we have so far had to cancel 27 flights to and from Zurich scheduled for today. This affects around 3,100 of our passengers, which we very much regret. Some of the flights we are operating today are experiencing significant delays of up to three hours. Unfortunately, we currently have to assume that, depending on how the weather situation develops, we may have to cancel further flights over the course of the day.

Strong thunderstorm cells repeatedly moving across Switzerland and the Zurich region are currently having a significant impact on our flight operations at Zurich Airport. Lightning strikes are repeatedly being recorded in the vicinity of the airport. In such situations, work on the apron must be temporarily suspended for safety reasons.

In concrete terms, this means that during a so-called “handling stop,” employees must leave the apron and keep their distance from aircraft and other metal structures. During this time, aircraft cannot, for example, be loaded or unloaded, refueled, or prepared for their next flight.

Ground operations therefore largely come to a standstill. Even if such a stop lasts only for a limited period of time, it causes delays that can continue to have an impact throughout the rest of the day. At the same time, the weather conditions around the airport can significantly restrict the number of possible takeoffs and landings.

We are very aware of what this means for our passengers. Anyone who needs to make a connecting flight or whose travel plans are suddenly disrupted needs a great deal of patience. This is frustrating and stressful. Our employees are working tirelessly to keep operations as stable as possible, ensure connections wherever possible, and limit the impact on our passengers.

We also provide a more in-depth explanation of why thunderstorms can have such a significant impact on an airport and why handling stops are necessary in our SWISS Magazine: “When everything comes to a standstill at the airport”