Between June 1 and July 10 an average of 46% of aircraft took off from Zurich with a delay of more than 15 minutes, according to an analysis by the news agency AWP. On average, passengers had to wait around 40 minutes.
Most delays were of an operational, technical or weather-related nature, said an airport spokeswoman.
Among the airlines that operated more than 50 departures during this period, passengers of the Polish airline LOT had their patience tested the most: almost 78% of flights were delayed. Air Canada, SunExpress, Scandinavian, Aer Lingus and Air Serbia also recorded delay rates of over 60%.
At SWISS, which operates the most commercial flights at Zurich Airport, the figure was around 48%.
The most punctual airlines included Iberia (17%), Air Europa (20%), Qatar Airways (25%), Croatia Airlines (29.9%) and Edelweiss (30.7%).
Covid effect
Increased delays during the peak season is normal – there are significantly more flights in summer than at the beginning of the year – but the fact that many airlines and service providers have reduced capacities due to the Covid-19 crisis is now taking its toll.
As recently as 2019 around 40% of departures were delayed at their peak in June, which is around six percentage points fewer than at present. Over the whole year, the delay rate was just under 29%.
In addition, flights are being cut. SWISS and many other European airlines have had to cancel hundreds of flights in the summer, mainly because of a lack of staff. Since the beginning of June, 632 out of a total of 25,030 arrivals and departures have been cancelled at Zurich Airport across all airlines.
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“Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible to make predictions about delays because we’re internationally dependent,” the spokeswoman said. However, it can be assumed that the delay rate will be relatively higher this summer.
The airport recommends that during the peak travel season travellers arrive up to three hours before departure.
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Seventy-five years ago, work began on the construction of Zurich Airport, which quickly grew to become Switzerland’s busiest aviation hub.
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