British passengers stranded in Europe following yesterday's suspension of all flights by the financially troubled airline Swissair began returning to the UK today on other carriers.
The cash-strapped airline managed to switch passengers to its subsidiary carrier, Crossair, which is operating six return flights from Zurich to London today. "Anyone with a valid Swissair ticket will be able to travel on Crossair today," said a Swissair spokesman. Meanwhile, the low-cost carrier easyJet said it would fly passengers with valid Swissair tickets on its planes for a special fare of £20, available until the end of Friday on services between London and Geneva, London and Zurich, and Geneva and Barcelona and Nice. There was also hope that some of Swissair's own flights would be resumed as the airline continues to struggle to stave off bankruptcy.
The airline's financial plight led to officials at Heathrow airport in west London impounding two of Swissair's Airbus planes yesterday after concerns over unpaid landing fees totalling a reported £300,000. Later, both aircraft were released.
One of Swissair's creditors, to whom the airline owes £83m, is the Belgian carrier Sabena, of which Swissair owns 49.5%. Sabena services were continuing normally today, a spokesman for the airline said.
Swissair is the biggest casualty so far of the air travel slump caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. The airline claims the crisis is likely to cost it 3.1bn to 3.8bn Swiss francs (£1.3bn to £1.7bn) by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, British Airways is due to announce its September passenger figures later today - potentially the first indication of the anticipated massive downturn in business since the terrorist atrocities. BA, which had already signalled job cuts before the events of September 11, has since announced further substantial staff reductions and the scrapping of a number of routes worldwide.
o If you have booked tickets with Swissair and would like more information, call their customer helpline on 0845 6010956.
