Summer timetable 2023: Fly direct to Shanghai and Seoul from Zurich
The change to the summer timetable sees the return of flights to Shanghai and Seoul from Zurich Airport. It also includes new destinations in the European route network, and two new services round out the offering from Zurich. Zurich Airport is ready for the increase in travellers over the Easter and spring holidays. However, longer waiting periods at peak times will have to be taken into account.
Overall, 60 airlines will offer flights to 187 destinations in 71 countries from Zurich, starting with the summer timetable. This means that, compared with 2019, a total of 95% of the destinations are being served again by around 90% of the airlines.
Starting with the summer timetable, SWISS will again offer three flights per week to Shanghai. In March it added the route back to its network with one flight per week. Likewise, Korean Air is again operating the seasonal route between Seoul and Zurich in the summer timetable – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The home carrier’s route network
SWISS, Edelweiss and Chair are expanding their route networks. Around one third of the additional services in the SWISS timetable are flights to and from Germany. Edelweiss will take over Bari as a destination from SWISS. The holiday airline will also offer two flights per week to Biarritz in southwestern France, starting on 23 June. From 7 July until 18 August, Edelweiss will operate flights to Akureyri in Iceland, a new destination from Zurich. The destinations served by Chair in the winter timetable, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, will be retained in the summer. From 7 April there will also be a flight to Fuerteventura.
Other European destinations from Zurich
After a break of around three years, Cyprus Airways will again offer seasonal flights on the Zurich-Larnaca route. Iberia will operate a service to Ibiza in July and August. Vueling, which, like Iberia, is part of the International Airlines Group, will operate a weekly flight to Bilbao from July until the end of October, on Fridays. easyJet will offer two flights a week from Zurich to Naples for a short time in the summer. From the end of March, Brussels Airlines will offer five flights a week from Zurich to Brussels. The Moldovan airline FLYONE will operate flights on Thursdays and Sundays to Chişinău as of 25 June.
Expanded long-haul segment
Back in Zurich since last December, Cathay Pacific will increase its flights to Hong Kong from two to three per week from the end of June. From July, Qatar Airways will offer two daily flights to Doha again. Moreover, Ethiopian Airlines will offer four services a week, instead of three, as of the summer timetable. In addition to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it will now fly on Sundays via Milan to Addis Ababa. Saudia is expanding its service with a third flight to Riyadh.
Zurich Airport preparing for the Easter and spring holidays
The Easter and spring holidays are among the most popular travel times in Switzerland. Higher passenger volumes and departure and arrival peaks throughout the day are expected, when many aircraft will take off or land at short intervals. This can impact on waiting times at the airport.
Tips for passengers
By making sure they are well prepared, passengers can help to make processes such as check-in, the security check and passport control run smoothly, and thus shorten waiting times. Passengers are recommended to arrive at the airport between two and three hours before departure. It is important to note the check-in desk opening times: In the morning, the earliest check-in time is 04:00 – many airlines only open their check-in desk for their flights two hours before departure. Passengers are not recommended to arrive at the airport more than three hours before departure, as this can delay the processing of passengers whose departures are imminent.
Check-in: If possible, check in before arriving at the airport. Most airlines offer web or mobile check-in, or advance check-in the evening before, including printing baggage labels at home.
Self bag drop: Passengers of the Lufthansa Group or Chair, who have checked in online and have a boarding pass, can hand in their baggage themselves at the self bag drop machines at Check-in 2, row 5 and at Check-in 3 (Lufthansa Group only).
Security check: To pass through the security check as quickly as possible and to avoid unnecessary waiting times, passengers are asked to check the Zurich Airport website in advance to see which items to pack in checked baggage and which in hand baggage. During peak hours, longer waits at the security check must be expected.
Helpful links:
