Swiss International Air Lines reports slight passenger decline

Swiss International Air Lines reported a 1.5 percent decrease in passenger numbers during the 2026 autumn holiday period, spanning September 25 to October 18. The Lufthansa subsidiary transported 1,334,655 passengers across 10,154 flights.

While operational stability remained high at 98.2 percent, departure punctuality (within a 15-minute window) was recorded at 68 percent. Although this represents a 3.7 percentage point improvement over the previous year, it remains below the targets set for premium European network carriers.

Key high-demand routes included London-Heathrow, Palma de Mallorca, and Berlin in Europe, while New York JFK, Chicago, and Boston led intercontinental traffic. Chief Operating Officer Oliver Buchhofer noted that operations were adjusted in coordination with airport partners to manage peak demand. External factors affecting performance included geopolitical tensions and operational restructuring at wet-lease partner Air Baltic.