Thunderstorms force Swiss to cancel dozens of Zurich flights

Swiss International Air Lines cancelled at least 27 flights to and from Zurich Airport on Friday, 28 August, because of severe weather, the Lufthansa subsidiary said. Roughly 3,100 passengers were affected, the airline reported.

According to Swiss, repeated thunderstorm cells moved over Switzerland and the Zurich region through the day, disrupting flight operations at the airport. The carrier said lightning strikes were repeatedly recorded near the airport.

Flights that did operate faced substantial delays, Swiss said, in some cases of up to three hours. The airline said it expected further cancellations depending on how the weather developed through the rest of the day.

Much of the disruption stemmed from what the airline described as a handling stop, a safety measure triggered when lightning risk requires ground crews to leave the tarmac and stay away from aircraft and other metal equipment. Aircraft cannot be loaded, unloaded, fuelled or otherwise prepared for departure during such stops. Ground operations effectively halt.

Swiss expressed regret over the impact on passengers. It did not provide further detail on rebooking arrangements or the total number of affected flights beyond the initial count of 27.