Flight suspensions and longer flying times on SWISS airline routes, as well as more news in our Monday roundup.

SWISS airline suspends flights to Israel

Following a missile attack on Sunday near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, SWISS is suspending flights between Zurich and the Israeli capital, the airline said.

The measure will remain in effect until Tuesday May 6th at the earliest.

Affected passengers will be rebooked on other flights, if available.

Alternatively, SWISS is offering passengers a free rebooking to a later travel date or a refund of the ticket price.

And speaking of the national airline…

SWISS is no longer flying over Pakistan

Due to the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the airline is avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice.

This will result in longer flight times on some routes to Asia.

For instance, flights to and from New Delhi, Singapore, and Bangkok will be rerouted, but only the flight time to and from New Delhi will be significantly extended.

For the other routes, flights will only be slightly longer than usually. If travelers miss their originally scheduled connecting flights due to this measure, they will be rebooked free of charge, according to the airline.

SWISS did not indicate how long this measure is expected to last.

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Train traffic on the Bern-Fribourg line will be interrupted all summer 

No train will run on this route from June 27th to August 25th due to roadworks between the two cities — the main line between German-and French-speaking parts of the country, the Transport and Environment Association (ATE) announced last week.

Though replacement buses will be put into service every 10 minutes for main lines and 15-30 minutes for regional traffic, nothing is planned for passengers transporting bicycles.

“In the middle of peak cycling season, it is incomprehensible that no appropriate solution is being planned for bikers,” salis Selim Egloff, the ATE’s project manager.

 

“And the alternative routes via Valais or Neuchâtel are already very busy and offer little additional capacity for bicycles,” he added.

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Significant increase in money laundering reports in Switzerland

 

Suspected cases of money laundering in Switzerland have jumped by 30 percent in 2024, reaching 15,414 reports.

The banking sector accounted for the majority of registered cases — 92 percent in all — according to a new report by the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS).

As mandated by Swiss legislation, MROS receives suspicious activity reports from financial intermediaries and conducts its own investigation.

It also decides on a case-by-case basis whether a given report should be forwarded to a law enforcement agency — either the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland or a cantonal prosecutor’s office— for a follow-up and sanctions.

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