SWISS re-routes flights due to Niger air space closure

Flights from Zurich to South Africa have been re-routed. There are, however, no direct flights to Nigeria. Keystone/gaetan Bally

Swiss International Air Lines has adjusted its flight route as a result of the closure of the airspace over Niger due to the ongoing coup in Niger.

Passengers whose connections could not be made as a result of the flight re-route were rebooked by the airline on alternative connections, Swiss International Air Lines stated on Monday in response to a request from the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. There is no direct connection from Zurich Airport to Niger.

Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital Niamey is currently continuing to operate commercial flights. The military junta in Niger stated it had closed the country’s air space because of the threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A statement by the junta’s spokesman on Nigerien national television on Sunday evening said that any attempt to violate the air space would be answered immediately and with force. 

An ultimatum issued by ECOWAS over the weekend called on the military to reinstate the detained President Mohamed Bazoum and restore constitutional order. ECOWAS said it would otherwise take measures that could include force.

There are around 20 Swiss nationals still in Niger. As of Sunday, 13 Swiss nationals have been able to leave the country, the foreign ministry said in a statement to Keystone-SDA.

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The ministry said it was in contact with the Swiss nationals who remain in Niger. An organised return was not currently planned and Swiss nationals who decide to leave the country were responsible for their own return, it said. But the ministry said it would provide assistance as much as possible.

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