Half as many air passengers at Christmas as before the pandemic
Zurich / Basel / Geneva – The Swiss airports are again busier this Christmas than last year. Nevertheless, noisy information from the airports in Zurich, Geneva and Basel are only half as many passengers as before the pandemic.
Around 34,000 passengers are expected at Zurich Airport every day over the Christmas week, as a company spokeswoman for the Keystone-SDA news agency said on request on Friday. In 2020 there were only 17,000 people. In 2019, even before the pandemic, there were around 85,000 people at Christmas.
The Euroairport Basel-Mulhouse expects a traffic volume of a little more than 40 percent over the festive season compared to the same period in 2019/20, as a spokeswoman for the airport announced. Last year, the volume was around 29 percent of what it was before the pandemic.
Since the emergence of the highly contagious Omikron virus variant and the introduction of new travel restrictions, there has been uncertainty, the airport spokeswoman wrote. This has a negative effect on the number of bookings. The new regulations have led to many planned trips being canceled or postponed.
Flight connections canceled
Most countries have restricted entry requirements to limit the spread of the Omicron variant. Several airlines are reducing their offer. British Airways canceled all flights to and from Basel-Mulhouse by the end of 2021.
In Geneva, too, the airport continues to expect significantly fewer passengers. On Boxing Day – the peak day over the festive season – around 33,000 passengers are handled. “That is half as much as the normal traffic before the pandemic,” said a spokeswoman for Geneva Airport.
Geneva expects 25,000 passengers on Friday, which corresponds to 40 percent of the traffic volume in 2019. According to forecasts, 18,000 passengers should fly over Geneva on the usual quiet Christmas Day.
Passengers should prepare well
In Geneva, the flights from Great Britain, which are usually popular with winter sports guests over the holidays, are poorly used by 35 to 38 percent.
According to the airports, waiting times are limited despite Corona requirements and additional controls. Those in charge called on the passengers to be well prepared and to arrive at the airport at short notice with a certificate of the documents such as Covid test and negative PCR test. (awp / mc / pg)