SWISS slashes flights to its last remaining Chinese city as Shanghai dropped from daily to just 3x weekly
February 14, 2026
In a network reshuffle, SWISS International Airlines – a member of the Lufthansa Group – has reduced frequencies to Shanghai, its last remaining Chinese city.
The carrier previously flew to Beijing on a daily basis, but suspended the route in recent years. When it flew to the capital, it had up to double daily services to China. Since then, it dropped to daily flights to Shanghai only as the Beijing route left the network, and is now planning further reductions with just three weekly flights scheduled in summer 2026.
The latest changes were reflected in this week’s filings to schedules displayed through aviation analytics firm Cirium. The carrier’s reservation system also only shows three weekly flights available for booking, departing Zurich on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Last summer, it flew the route on a daily basis.
The carrier operates the flight with an Airbus A340-300 and is required to avoid Russian airspace as a result of a ban related to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Lufthansa Group has dramatically reduced flights to China in recent years
SWISS is not the only airline in the Lufthansa Group that has reduced flights to China. This summer, the group will fly a combined 33 weekly frequencies on average, primarily concentrated with Lufthansa. It will operate services to Shanghai from both its Frankfurt and Munich hubs. Flights to Beijing are also offered from Munich.
Austrian, another member of the group, will fly a Boeing 777 to Shanghai six times per week.
In August 2019, Cirium shows the group offered 72 weekly frequencies to China, with more hubs connecting to the capital city. Lufthansa also offered service to more secondary Chinese cities including Shenyang and Qingdao.
European airlines have gradually pulled out of China for a number of reasons. Unable to fly over Russian airspace, Chinese carriers have a considerable competitive advantage. In addition, some have pointed to lower demand for flights to the country as a reason as well. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, dynamics on services between Europe and China have drastically changed.
Featured image: Lukas Wunderlich | stock.adobe.com
