GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Flights in and out of Brussels are being disrupted Monday by a 24-hour strike by Belgium’s three main unions. The 30 January labour action comes at the same time as the Eurozone leaders’ summit to discuss the sovereign debt crisis. The unions’ protest against higher taxes and an austerity programme is causing havoc with air, rail and road traffic.
Geneva flights are so far operating mostly on schedule, but check your airline to confirm, the two airports caution.
GENEVA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Flights in and out of Greece have been cancelled or in some cases delayed during a two-day nationwide strike 5-6 October that began early Wednesday, over austerity measures.
Swiss has cancelled its two flights to Athens from Geneva today.
Trains are not running, hospitals are operating only on an emergency basis and many schools are closed as the country’s main union, which represents about half the work force according to Reuters, defies the government.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to strike today.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The first group of Nigerians to be returned to their country in a year for being in Switzerland illegally was coloured by problems at Zurich Airport Thursday 7 July. Two of the group of 19 resisted and were injured by police; they were not put on the plane in the end and both were sent to cantonal prisons, according to Zurich police, who say an administrative inquiry has been opened.
The incident received heavy coverage by Swiss media Friday in part because the Federal Office for Migration, which is responsible for the flights, issued a press release saying that the flight was “without incident”. TSR reports that the office later explained the two versions of Thursdays events as an administrative communications confusion, with the Migrations press release referring only to the flight itself, since what happened earlier falls under the responsibility of Zurich police.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - Hainan Airlines, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the industry and China’s fourth largest, starts three-times weekly flights between Zurich and Beijing Tuesday 31 May, the beginning of what promises to be stronger aviation ties between Switzerland and China.
Swiss is reportedly targeting Zurich-Beijing as one of its next offers, possibly linked to Swiss’s purchase of five new planes.
Photo: bridgestochina.com (Life in Beijing)
Hainan Air’s non-stop service will used an Airbus A330 with 34 business class and 179 economy seats. The flight runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in each direction. Flights leave Zurich at 13:20 and arrive at Beijing International Airport at 05:20 local time the next morning. The departing time from Beijing is 01:50 local time, landing at Zurich Airport at 7:05 the same day. Both arrival times offer the possibility of good connections for further travel, says Hainan Air, China’s largest private airline.
“The frequency is much likely to be increased if the market demand is higher,” notes Hainan in a press release about the new line. It also notes that with code-sharing with its partner Air Berlin for Zurich-Berlin flights that connect with Berlin-Beijing on Hainan, Switzerland and China now have nearly daily connections between their capitals, on Hainan.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Air Lingus, BA and Ryanair late Monday canceled several flights from Ireland and England to Scotland, with volcanic ash threatening northern Europe’s skies following the latest volcanic eruption in Iceland. Grimsvoetn in southeastern Iceland began to spew ash late Saturday 23 May and weather forecasters say ash could reach Scotland Tuesday, forcing airlines to cancel. The volcano is said by experts to most likely be Iceland’s strongest since the 1950s. The rest of the British Isles may be spared the ash for now, thanks to southeasterly winds.
Scotland was also hit by unseasonable weather, with winds gusting up to 150mph, power lines down and ferries and rail lines forced to close. One person died when a tree fell on his car and at the height of the storm 50,000 people were without electricity.
US President Barack Obama was able to travel from Ireland to England for the next leg of his European visit, despite storms and ash clouds to the north.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, The Scotsman
Geneva airport
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Hainan Airlines, which will begin operating non-stop flights between Zurich and Beijing 31 May, is opening sales in Zurich 1 May with Aviareps handling bookings and service for the privately owned Chinese company.
Hainan Air will initially offer three flights a week, but this is scheduled to increase if the demand is strong enough.
Geneva to Amsterdam seats will increase by 14 percent on KLM this summer and Basel will have Swiss flights to Nice starting 1 July for an introductory fare of CHF99. Swiss is also adding 7 flights a week to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport from Basel 27 March, in addition to its current four from Zurich.
Swiss 6pm flight from Zurich to decide later if landing in Tokyo or Osaka
Home sweet home at Zurich airport, but not all Swiss in Japan are keen to rush home
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss government Sunday 20 March temporarily moved its embassy in Japan from Tokyo to Osaka, after reserving all available seats on Swiss airline flights 18, 19 and 20 March, for Swiss citizens.
The moves were part of a series of precautionary measures, with shifting winds adding to uncertainty about radiation in northeastern Japan.
Swiss Monday afternoon says its 18:00 flight from Zurich to Tokyo will leave as scheduled, but a decision about whether to land in Tokyo or Osaka will be made later. The flight stops in Hong Kong. The airline operates an afternoon and evening flight to Tokyo daily and one evening flight to Zurich from Tokyo. Planes returning are being checked for radiation and up to now the tests remain negative, says the airline.
“According to Swiss experts, developments surrounding the nuclear reactor infrastructure in Fukushima remain uncertain,” the government said in a statement issued Sunday.
The nuclear power plant re-established electricity over the weekend but staff were evacuated following unexplained smoke Monday. The smoke has since cleared, reports Reuters.
Ireland is having a rough day Tuesday 1 February, with Taoiseach Brian Cowen asking the president this afternoon to dissolve his government and call for elections, saying he is retiring from politics after 27 years. RTE reports that the next election could be 25 February.
Aer Lingus, in moves not directly linked to the country’s political situation, is suffering another day of cabin crew industrial action that has forced the airline to cancel 20 flights, mostly to Europe, reports the Irish Times.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Gulf Air has announced it will add three flights a week from Geneva to Bahrain starting 29 March 2011. The flights will leave at 11:50 and arrive at 18:50 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Geneva using a B737-700 with 16 business class flat bed and 78 economy class seats. Flights the same days from Bahrain will leave at 02:15 and arrive at 07:50.
More snow!
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s Christmas snow has begun to fall steadily, and up to 10cm are expected on the plain, with 20cm at higher altitudes, but early afternoon 24 December showed relatively few signs of the winter weather snarls neighbouring France and Germany are experiencing. Geneva’s Cointrin Airport recommends that travellers arrive at least two hours before departure for all flights, given that up to 56,000 passengers are expected on Sunday, with traffic building up from the 20,000 travellers handled by the airport on a normal day.
Flights, trains and road traffic in France are all snarled by fresh snow on Christmas Eve day, throughout the country, with repercussions in neighbouring countries. Flights from Paris to Switzerland in the early afternoon were cancelled, although some later flights are still displayed as operating. Train stations are expected to handle some two million people over the Christmas weekend, with 800,000 Friday 24 December alone. Areas along the eastern borders with Germany and Switzerland as well as mountain regions further south are on orange alert for icy, snowy roads. Traffic at noon Friday was disrupted particularly in the Calais area and Charles-de-Gaulles Roissy
German train service was disrupted between Berlin and Hannover for several hours late Thursday when lines were iced over, stopping five intercity trains for five hours. Rail delays are expected to continue throughout Friday. Germany has also seen several highway accidents due to ice, with North Rhine Westphalia recording 1,734 accidents in 24 hours, according to The Local, Germany. A 24km tailback was formed, heading into Munich, after a spectacular pileup that involved 51 vehicles on the A9 motorway.
Belgium is also experiencing traffic problems due to snow, with flights from Brussels airport delayed and in some cases cancelled.
Roads in the UK are mostly cleared, according to the Guardian, allowing motorists a chance to get away for Chistmas, but it points to a reminder from the Automobile Association that stopping takes 10 times longer on icy, snowy roads than under normal conditions, so leave plenty of space between cars.
Links to other sites: Geneva Airport departures and arrivals, Guardian, UK, Le Monde (Fre), The Local (Ger), TSR (Fre)
Trains are in Europe are filling up, as flight options shrink (photo: Zurich main station)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - European flights remain chaotic Tuesday morning 21 December, and there are now fears that the repercussions will continue to affect flights through Christmas. Among Tuesday’s announcements from airports and airlines: no flights are departing or arriving at Geneva’s Cointrin (update: still closed at 11:00). BA says that only half its Heathrow flights are operating (Gatwick and City flights are running, however), Duesseldorf in Germany is iced in, Frankfurt is closed due to fresh snow, after first cancelling 300 flights on the heels of cancellations for nearly 600 Monday. Brussels is accepting flights, but none are leaving, reports TSR, due to a shortage of de-icing liquid for the planes.
Trains are proving a difficult option as well, with a one-kilometre line forming at St Pancreas station in London for the Eurostar train, Swiss television TSR reports.
Background and contacts for airlines in Geneva / GenevaLunch
Links to other sites: BBC, Guardian, Le Monde (Fre) TSR (Fre), The Local, Germany
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Air traffic throughout Europe remains disrupted Monday morning 20 December, and while many flights are arriving in Geneva and Zurich, several others have been cancelled, notably from London, Paris and German cities. Both airports are requesting that passengers and people meeting arrivals check with airlines to see if their flights are on schedule before going to the airport: Geneva, Zurich.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport has announced that there are currently some flights arriving and departing, but travellers are cautioned to check with their airlines before going to the Geneva Airport. European weather continues to cause severe disruptions: flights have been cancelled or postponed in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt due to snow, wind and icy conditions.
The web site of Geneva’s airport has been overloaded several times and only part of the site is accessible, but airport authorities are advising passengers to check directly with their airlines for flight information.
Here is the list of airlines from www.gva.ch 19 December, reproduced in pdf as a public service announcement. Note that if looking at this list later it will not include any contact information changes.
Update from Heathrow, 16:15
“Heathrow Airport will not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday’s bad weather.
“No flights will operate from Terminals 1 or 4 and a limited number of departures will leave from Terminals 3 and 5. We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates and you can contact your airline here.
“This morning, we listened carefully to the advice of our airside operations team and reluctantly judged that while Heathrow’s northern runway remains clear, the change in temperature overnight led to a significant build up of ice on parking stands around the planes and this requires the airfield to remain closed until it is safe to move planes around.
“We have 200 aircraft parking stands and have a team of several hundred people working to treat these airside areas and to keep passengers in the terminal as warm and as comfortable as possible while we do everything we can to get Heathrow moving.
“We are removing 30 tonnes of snow from each stand, but the temperature remains firmly below zero and Heathrow’s capacity is limited to the extent that all parking stands are occupied by aircraft, making the job of clearing and treating them more difficult.
“Safety is our first priority and we hope this course of action will allow us to offer a fuller service to passengers and airlines using Heathrow tomorrow.” (link)
Update from Amsterdam Schiphol, 16:15
“Due to weather conditions in Europe flights are delayed or cancelled. Please see the latest flight information on this website or contact the website of you airline. Before travelling to the airport we kindly advise you to check the latest flight information. If your flight is cancelled, please contact your airline before travelling to the airport.” (link)
Update from Paris Charles de Gaulle, 16:15
“Flights can be delayed or cancelled due to snow over Europe. Please contact your airline before going to the airport.” (link)
Update from Frankfurt, 16:15
“Flight delays and cancellations might occur at Frankfurt Airport due to wintry weather and reduced visibility. Passengers are kindly requested to contact their airline and to check traffic reports, e.g. on the radio or on teletext.” (ed. note: all flights on the departures page are cancelled or delayed), link
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The number of regular flights to Russia is being increased by both Swiss and Aeroflot for the winter ski season, Geneva’s Cointrin Airport says. Aeroflot has added an additional evening flight every day to Moscow-Sheremetyevo airport, while Swiss is adding four flights a week between Geneva and Moscow-Domodedevo.
Emirates will begin daily flights between Dubai and Geneva in June 2011, according to the airport.
Twin Jet now has 10 flights, Geneva-Milan, a week
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Twin Jet, a French airline that is a member of the Air France Flying Blue family, is now offering Monday to Friday direct flights between Milan and Geneva as well as daily Geneva-Marseilles flights.
The company began operating some flights on the two lines in April 2010, taking over from Baboo, which had offered indirect flights which it has dropped.
Twin Jet’s offer, built up gradually over the summer months, now includes two flights a day, morning and evening, between Geneva and the Italian city, with Marseille.
French workers are on strike again Tuesday 12 October, for the third time in the past 30 days, over government plans to raise the age for pensions from 65 to 67, and the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62. But today’s strikes have a different tone, with major unions scheduled to vote at the end of the day over starting rolling strikes, which would mean advance notice for one-day strikes that could be renewed, by vote, at the end of each day.
Half of French flights have been cancelled Tuesday, and rail service and public transport are badly disrupted. A three-week-old strike in Marseilles is blocking oil tankers, pushing up the price of diesel throughout Europe, according to the BBC.
Three flights, to Barcelona, London and Milan, were cancelled and several others delayed in Athens Sunday evening when Greek air traffic controllers went on a mini-strike, providing only minimal coverage after a Friday court ruling that a 48-hour strike would be illegal, reports ats/Le Nouvelliste. The cancelled flights to Spain and the UK were Easyjet’s.
The city of Ngari, at 4,274 metres altitude in western Tibet, now has the world’s third highest airport, after those in Bamda Airport in Qamdo in eastern Tibet and Kangding Airport in Sichuan Province in China, reports Xinhua. An inaugural flight to the new airport from Chengdu took place Thursday 1 July. Air China will fly four times a week between Ngari and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and a major connecting point to Tibet, with a stop in Lhasa. Ngari and Lhasa have until now been connected only by road, a distance of 1,600 km, and the flight shortens the trip to the regional capital Lhasa to one and half hours from three or four days by car.
©2010 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Swiss plane in the air
Update 13:40 Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Planes are flying over Switzerland again, but the airline Swiss, like many others, is unable to get all its scheduled flights back on track immediately. The main problem is that several airports remain at least partially closed, a spokesperson told GenevaLunch: in Germany, and until late morning, France, while Sweden was gradually opening Wednesday morning. Long-haul flights to both Paris and London are now being allowed to land.
Eighty of the 400 flights normally scheduled by Swiss for 21 April remained canceled, the spokesperson said at 13:40. Long-haul traffic is for the most part back to normal.
Geneva airport, few takers for the trolleys this week
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva airport flights began to take off and arrive Tuesday, but the majority of flights have not yet been reinstated. Airport officials are asking travelers not to go to the airport unless they have confirmed flights, and in any event to check the online timetable.
Flights arrived during the day from Palma de Mallorca, Athens and Zurich. They left for Vienna and Brussels, but flights to Marseilles and London have been canceled.
British airspace was partially opened Tuesday, but only briefly, with officials scrapping a plan to open the rest when a second cloud of volcanic ash began to arrive.
Links to other sites: Met Office, UK, Times, UK
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Travelers to or through the UK will need to check for last minute changes Friday, as the two-week school spring holidays begin, with British Air workers scheduling a four-day strike that starts Friday night. British railway workers are also planning a strike after the weekend. BA said Friday morning that it is able to add more flights because of the larger number of crew not joining the strike, which Unite, the union disputes.
Updates: BA Swiss page, BA strike news, British National Rail strike news
Greek airspace and airports as well as ferries are closed Thursday 11 March, with Greek workers from the country’s two largest unions calling a third general strike in the past month, the second in just a week. The unions are fighting the country’s austerity measures, designed to cut the public debt, which is four times higher than that allowed by the European Union.
Update 5 11:35 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Snow has been falling in the Lake Geneva region since early Wednesday morning, 13 January, and the Geneva Cointrin Airport was closed for several hours as a result. It re-opened shortly before 11:00 but note that all flights not cancelled are delayed, so expect long waits. Several European cities, notably in the UK, France and Germany, are closed due to snow or fog, reports TSR (Fre).
Long-haul flights were diverted to Zurich Airport while Geneva was closed. The weather in Zurich is cold, but no snow. Dozens of flights to the UK, France, Germany and elsewhere have been cancelled.
Note: the airport strongly recommends using public transport to reach Cointrin because of poor road conditions in the area.
Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for updates. Geneva airport site and arrivals/departures information.
Geneva / Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The airline Swiss began implementing new security measures Tuesday 5 January, in response to requirements by the US for flights going to that country. Swiss airports will now do second checks, including full body checks, on people who hold a passport from, are resident in or transiting through any of the 14 countries on a black list established by the US: Cuba, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.
China’s cold snap with high winds and heavy snows is set to continue, with the weather service giving a high-level orange alert for the third straight day. Temperatures are expected to plunge by as much as 18C, for a range of -20 to -32C in northern China and -10 to -18C in the south. The cold weather and largest snowfall in 60 years are closing airports and snarling traffic, with 15 highways including some around Beijing closed by heavy snow over the weekend. Thirty Beijing-Hong Kong flights were cancelled or suffered major delays due to Beijing’s snow and 1,200 flights were canceled or delayed Sunday alone in Beijing. The capital assigned 7,000 police officers to help direct traffic Monday morning and 5,000 volunteers to ensure that bus stops work smoothly.
South Korea was also badly affected by snow and cold, with the largest snowfall in 70 years.
The US Monday 4 January is starting “enhanced” scans, including more full body scans, on many flights into the US and for passengers from a list of countries which has not been officially released. CNN reports, however, that it was given the list by an unidentified government official and the countries are: Cuba, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. Passengers traveling from or through those countries to the US can expect tougher security measures.
Random scans on all international flights into the US are also being stepped up. Pilots are being given more discretionary power to insist passengers cannot travel with pillows or blankets on their laps during some flights and to limit movement in the cabin for those flights.
Canadian holiday flights to the US have been chaotic thanks to the sudden implementation of stricter security measures after a Nigerian man was arrested for attempting to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit 25 December. No carry-on luggage is allowed on flights from Canada to the US, although the airlines are issuing lists of exceptions, including medications. Al Qaeda claims it was behind the failed Northwest flight attack.
Links to other sites: Air Canada, The Globe & Mail,
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Effective 2 December, Ryanair will no longer fly to Basel, the budget airline announced Tuesday 10 November. The company has said that it offered Basel airport 13 additional flights and 200,000 more passengers per year if the airport reduced its airport fees. The airport refused.
Ryanair flies to six destinations from Basel. The company says the airport will lose 200 jobs as a result of the closure. Passengers with flights after 2 December will be contacted for a full refund, the company says.
Terminal 10, Geneva's Cointrin airport (GVA)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cointrin Airport won’t look the same to you Sunday if you’re fliying to or from Britain or Ireland or any other non-Schengen country. Swiss airports have been working with the European Union for some months to bring security systems into line, the last step in Switzerland dropping routine border controls to allow the free movement of people within the Schengen Area, to which Switzerland belongs.
Passport controls go, customs checks remain
Land border controls ended in 2008, but airports caused a problem, in part because of the large amount of traffic between Switzerland and two EU countries that are not part of the Schengen area, the UK and Ireland.
