London City Airport welcomes return of Zurich flights
The international significance of the London to Zurich route and the falling Covid-19 case rates in Switzerland are encouraging signs for the country’s removal from the quarantine list, according to London City Airport.
London City Airport has welcomed the resumption of five weekly flights to Zurich, despite the country still being on the UK’s quarantine list.
Switzerland was removed from the travel corridor exemption list by the UK on Saturday 29th August, requiring people entering the UK from Switzerland to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in the UK. However, it’s understood there are exemptions and allowances for certain areas of business and government departments.
Operated by BA CityFlyer and resumed on Monday 5th October, the Zurich route was London City’s fourth most popular in 2019 with 429,019 passengers.
London City Airport Chief Commercial Officer Richard Hill said: "This is a positive step for the airport, good news for business travel, and important step in the economic recovery.
"Zürich is a key hub of international business, finance, and government. So, it is crucial that London has strong, fast and easy connections direct from the centre of the capital."
"We’re also hopeful that, with the Covid-19 case rate consistently falling in Switzerland, the government will remove it from the quarantine list. This would be enormously welcome for our airlines and would allow them to schedule more routes and rotations through the
winter season."
London City Airport temporarily suspended commercial and private flights on 25 March 2020 in response to the escalating public health crisis and government lockdown measures. Flights resumed on 21 June 2020.
London City Airport recently surveyed business leaders in the UK on their intentions to travel. Two thirds said that they consider travel to be important for the future of their business. A survey of more than 4,700 customers earlier this summer also demonstrated a strong desire to travel, with 79% of customers saying they are likely to travel when told
it’s safe to do so.
Alongside industry partners, the airport is calling on the government to introduce a consistent testing regime for air travel which could, in the short term, substantially reduce the current requirement for quarantine.
By Louise Longman, Contributing Editor (UK)
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