Switzerland’s national airline has launched a new flight route from Bristol Airport. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has begun operating a direct service between the South West transport hub and Zurich which was first announced last summer.
The carrier’s parent firm Lufthansa Group said it was “very pleased” to add Bristol as its eighth UK airport, and the new route would increase opportunities for trade in Switzerland’s “world leading” financial centre.
SWISS will increase the frequency of flights between the two cities from April onwards and from June will operate three a week.
Customers arriving on the inaugural flight from Zurich on Saturday (February 4) were presented with goody bags from Bristol tourism agency Visit West containing treats and information showcasing the local area.
Kathryn Davis, managing director at Visit West said: “This new route from Zurich to Bristol with SWISS provides a huge opportunity to further develop and rebuild our inbound European visitor market. Pre-pandemic, Switzerland was one of the region’s larger inbound markets, and Bristol one of the most popular UK cities with Swiss visitors.
“There were more than 38,000 Swiss visits in 2019, over half of which were holiday visits, so this route is a critical part of rebuilding the market. We look forward to welcoming passengers on the first flight and continuing to rebuild awareness through our trade partners.”
Bristol Airport said the service would strengthen the South West’s accessibility to Swiss markets and demonstrates SWISS’ commitment to supporting tourism and business links between Switzerland and the UK.
Head of airline relations Shaun Browne said: “This is an incredibly exciting day for Bristol Airport and the region. SWISS is a major global airline and this decision shows confidence in the region.
“The regular scheduled service between Bristol and Switzerland opens up a wide range of European and worldwide connections to our customers. Zurich is a great city whether for business or leisure and the link between the cities allows us to promote the South West and Wales region to inbound visitors from Switzerland and beyond.”
It comes after a legal challenge to Bristol Airport’s controversial plans to expand its maximum capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year was dismissed by a High Court judge last week.
The airport is set to proceed with a major investment in its terminal building, parking facilities, and public transport links, which it has said will help it create 800 jobs across its operations and boost the South West economy by an estimated £430m.
Airlines RyanAir, Jet2 and EasyJet have all expanded their operations at Bristol airport within recent months.
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