Swiss does not expect to resume flights between Lugano and Geneva, with chief executive Jens Fehlinger saying the route has no commercial basis at present and is unlikely to become viable in the near future. Previous attempts by Swiss and other operators failed to achieve long-term sustainability, he said, citing the balance between passenger demand, fares and operating costs. Swiss withdrew from Lugano in 2019.
Fehlinger made the remarks in an interview with Corriere del Ticino published on 31 October, aboard an Airbus A330 inaugurating Swiss’s Zurich–Bengaluru service. For Ticino passengers seeking access to the airline’s network, he pointed to Rail & Fly connections from Lugano, Locarno and Bellinzona to Zurich Airport.
A direct flight would substantially reduce travel time compared with the overland journey. A proposed amendment to Swiss law could allow European airlines to operate domestic routes, including Lugano–Geneva, if no Swiss carrier serves them. The proposal still requires further political steps, and no airline has been identified as a potential operator. Whether another carrier could make the route commercially viable remains uncertain; Swiss’s position does not concern an existing service or a planned restart.