SWISS rerurns first group from Middle East

Friday, 6 March 2026 06:30

The first set of Swiss nationals have been brought home on a Swiss International Airlines flight from the Middle East.

A plane left Oman and returned to Zurich yesterday afternoon, carrying 211 passengers.

The airline says the plane left Zurich with only crew.

Many of the passengers had managed to drive from Dubai to Oman - Swiss says there are no flights planned to Dubai for the moment.

The airline stresses it was a normal commercial flight - passengers paid CHF 1,000 for a ticket - it was not a government funded evacuation.

No further flights by Swiss are planned, but Edelweiss says it plans a flight to Oman on Sunday.

More from Bitesize News

Important votes this weekend

A big voting weekend coming up.
Geneva questions if non-fine payers should be jailed

The practice of jailing people who fail to pay fines is under scrutiny in Geneva.
Iran war hits Swiss hotel

The war in Iran is hitting Swiss tourism hard.
Geneva population grows

Geneva’s population continued to grow in 2025, reaching over 537,000 residents by the end of December - 41.7 percent of them foreign nationals.
Govt slammed for leaving thousands in Dubai

The government is being criticised for leaving more than 5,000 Swiss nationals stranded in the middle east - while other countries are successfully managing to get their own nationals back to their home countries.
First vote for fire payout passes

In Bern, the upper house of parliament, The Council of States, has approved emergency federal support for victims of the Crans-Montana tragedy.