Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) confirmed on Sunday, 8 March 2026, that it is **not planning any further special repatriation flights** from the Gulf region for the time being. The airline flew 211 citizens home from Muscat last Thursday and Edelweiss operated two additional rotations that brought a further 404 passengers to Zurich on Saturday. According to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), some **4,040 Swiss nationals are still registered in the Travel Admin app** as being in countries affected by the conflict that erupted after last week’s US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
A SWISS spokesperson told news agency Keystone-SDA that safety assessments “change hour by hour” and that any future rescue flights would be organised only at the explicit request of the FDFA. Commercial services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Amman and Erbil are currently suspended until at least 10 March, while flights to Tel Aviv remain grounded until 22 March and to Beirut until 28 March.
![SWISS pauses additional evacuation flights as 4,000 Swiss nationals remain in Middle East]()
The standoff leaves thousands of Swiss tourists, business travellers and expatriate workers scrambling for alternatives. Many have registered with Swiss embassies and are exploring overland routes to neighbouring countries with open airspace such as Oman or Qatar. Travel-risk consultancies report surging demand from multinational clients with staff on assignment in the region, and corporate travel managers are invoking force-majeure clauses to recover non-refundable ticket costs.
For globally mobile companies, the pause highlights the need for **robust duty-of-care programmes**, dynamic traveller-tracking and contingency planning. Swiss-based multinationals with Middle East operations are advising employees to keep electronic copies of passports, maintain 24-hour communication and avoid border areas where demonstrations have flared. Immigration lawyers warn that overstaying entry stamps could trigger fines when airspace re-opens and urge travellers to contact local migration authorities proactively.
While the FDFA continues to monitor the situation, observers note that air-space closures often outlast the acute security crisis because crews, insurers and regulators apply conservative risk thresholds. Businesses with critical staff movements should therefore budget for prolonged disruption and consider re-routing via European hubs once operations resume.
A SWISS spokesperson told news agency Keystone-SDA that safety assessments “change hour by hour” and that any future rescue flights would be organised only at the explicit request of the FDFA. Commercial services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Amman and Erbil are currently suspended until at least 10 March, while flights to Tel Aviv remain grounded until 22 March and to Beirut until 28 March.
The standoff leaves thousands of Swiss tourists, business travellers and expatriate workers scrambling for alternatives. Many have registered with Swiss embassies and are exploring overland routes to neighbouring countries with open airspace such as Oman or Qatar. Travel-risk consultancies report surging demand from multinational clients with staff on assignment in the region, and corporate travel managers are invoking force-majeure clauses to recover non-refundable ticket costs.
For globally mobile companies, the pause highlights the need for **robust duty-of-care programmes**, dynamic traveller-tracking and contingency planning. Swiss-based multinationals with Middle East operations are advising employees to keep electronic copies of passports, maintain 24-hour communication and avoid border areas where demonstrations have flared. Immigration lawyers warn that overstaying entry stamps could trigger fines when airspace re-opens and urge travellers to contact local migration authorities proactively.
While the FDFA continues to monitor the situation, observers note that air-space closures often outlast the acute security crisis because crews, insurers and regulators apply conservative risk thresholds. Businesses with critical staff movements should therefore budget for prolonged disruption and consider re-routing via European hubs once operations resume.
Source: SWI swissinfo.ch
