The last plane of the Swiss company from Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, landed in Zurich on Sunday followingnoon. Faced with the worsening crisis in Ukraine, the company announced on Saturday the temporary cessation of its flights between the two countries from Monday.
For its last flight, Swiss used its largest aircraft, a 340-seat Boeing 777. Usually, it uses smaller devices with around 145 seats for this connection. The plane was “well packed”, a spokesman for the company told the Keystone-ATS news agency.
Like other European airlines, Swiss has, for security reasons, suspended its flights between Ukraine and Switzerland from Monday until February 28. “The safety of passengers and crew members is the absolute priority at all times,” a spokesperson for the company explained on Saturday to justify this measure. The Ukrainian company Uia maintains its flights between Kiev and Geneva.
Faced with the deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, several countries had called on their citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible. On Saturday evening, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) followed suit by recommending Swiss nationals residing in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine to temporarily leave these regions on their own.
Tourist trips and other non-emergency trips to Ukraine are also not recommended. The FDFA generally advises once morest travel to certain parts of the country.
The embassy remains open
The decision to leave the country is an individual decision. The Swiss embassy in Kiev must be informed of the departure, the FDFA specified on its website. It remains open and continues to provide its usual services and assistance.
In the event of a deterioration of the situation, however, the Embassy has only very limited possibilities of providing services or assistance in the event of an emergency. External tensions are very high due to the reinforcement of Russian troops and military maneuvers near the Ukrainian border. There is a risk of escalation, had further noted the FDFA.
Call for dialogue
Switzerland has expressed concern regarding the increase in armed clashes in eastern Ukraine, observed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). “We call on all parties for a return to the ceasefire and active de-escalation,” the FDFA wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
This also implies a large withdrawal of Russian armed forces near the Ukrainian borders. A constructive dialogue is essential, continued the FDFA. Switzerland is ready to support such a dialogue.
The Swiss employees of the OSCE special mission in Ukraine have temporarily remained in the country. In times of crisis, it is extremely important that the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) can carry out its activities without outside interference, the FDFA’s Human Security Division had said on Twitter.
/ ATS
