Highest level of alert for passengers: Swiss airports are on the verge of closure, IT failure paralyzes flights, departures in Zurich, Geneva and Basel cancelled

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A large-scale IT outage on Friday had a significant impact on air traffic in Switzerland, as Swiss airports are in a complete crisis, flights are being cancelled and delays are occurring, which is why the highest level of red alert has been issued to passengers.

The problem, which is attributed to a system update by IT security company Crowdstrike, caused disruptions at major airports across the country, including Zurich Airport (ZRH), Geneva Airport (GVA) and Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport (BSL).

Flight bans and cancellations at Zurich Airport

The biggest disruptions occurred at Zurich Airport, Switzerland’s busiest air traffic hub. Landings were temporarily suspended in the morning, leading to delays and cancellations.

From early afternoon, the airport gradually resumed normal operations, but only after around 100 flights to and from Zurich had been cancelled.

Due to IT problems, passengers faced additional challenges with the manual check-in procedures that some airlines introduced.

Zurich Airport recommends that travelers contact their respective airline directly for current flight information.

Skyguide reduces air traffic capacity

The Swiss air traffic control company Skyguide also felt the effects of the outage. On Friday morning, it reduced the capacity of transit air traffic over Switzerland by 30 percent.

This included a reduction in approaches to Zurich Airport, which contributed to flights being cancelled earlier in the day.

There are delays in Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse

Although Geneva Airport did not report any immediate IT problems, delays and cancellations still occurred due to problems with air traffic control.

There were disruptions in ground operations at Basel-Mulhouse Airport as airlines and service providers struggled with technical problems.

Despite these challenges, there was no significant impact on the airport’s flight handling operations.

Swissport baggage handling systems are affected

The global service provider Swissport, which is responsible for baggage handling at many airports around the world, was particularly hard hit by the outage.

Most of their baggage handling systems in Switzerland were inoperable.

Swissport confirmed that they are working with Microsoft to resolve the issue.

Limited disruption in other sectors

The Swiss federal administration reported no significant problems as of Friday afternoon.

The Federal Office for Cyber ​​Security is not aware of any failures of critical infrastructure, but it admits to having received corresponding reports from various companies.

The financial services provider PostFinance and the telecommunications provider Swisscom also confirmed that their operations were not affected.

Potentially affected airlines

The specific airlines affected by the outage are not explicitly mentioned in the sources cited. However, the most important airlines operating from Switzerland include:

Swiss International Air Lines
Lufthansa
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
SAS Scandinavian Airlines
EasyJet

Passengers departing from Zurich, Geneva or Basel Mulhouse airports on Friday, June 14, 2024 with any airline should contact their airline directly for the latest information on possible delays or cancellations due to the IT outage.

Travelers are advised to check flight status

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recommends that all travelers check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport, especially during times of potential disruption.

This ensures that passengers have the most up-to-date information and can adjust their travel plans accordingly.