Vienna instead of Beirut: A220-300 from Swiss did not land in Vienna entirely voluntarily

Last week, an Airbus A220-300 operated by Swiss turned around on its way from Zurich-Kloten to Beirut via Bosnia and then diverted to Vienna-Schwechat. According to the company, there are two reasons for this.

On April 4, 2024, the HB-JCE was on its way to Beirut in the evening. Due to current events, the airline decided that it will not fly to Lebanon for safety reasons. The captain decided to cancel the flight and fly back to Switzerland. However, he then had to set course for Vienna-Schwechat, as landing at Switzerland's largest airport would no longer have been possible due to the ban on night flights.

The following day, the Airbus A220-300 was transferred from Vienna to Zurich. According to company information, the passengers were accommodated in hotels and rebooked on other connections, if possible. The decision to cancel the flight to Beirut was made as a precautionary measure for safety reasons.