Swiss have just announced that they will start trialling flights between London City (LCY) and Sion (SIR) in Switzerland February 2017. Sion airport is in the valley below Crans-Montana and Nendaz; only 30 minutes from Verbier; and the nearest to Zermatt etc. Although there's not a station at the airport, transfers to the mainline Sion station should be very short. I've flown to/from Sion on a charter from Gatwick to Verbier and it's a lot nearer than Geneva, and much quieter. My understanding is that the withdrawal of the Swiss Air Force from their base at Sion Airport lifts restrictions that made reliable commercial schedules difficult. This means that it's now worth the airport investing in the latest all-weather radar, provided the demand is there. Historically, it didn't have a good reputation, even for charter flights, as the older radar didn't allow for poor weather landings/take-offs. As yet, this is just a shortish press release, and the Swiss website doesn't have Sion registered. I assume more details will emerge later in the year.
Swiss Fly London-Sion
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Started by Msej449 in Switzerland 12-Aug-2016 - 1 Reply
Msej449 posted Aug-2016
Edited 2 times. Last update at 12-Aug-2016
SwingBeep
reply to 'Swiss Fly London-Sion' posted Aug-2016
The flights are going to operate on 4 Saturdays in February 2017, on the first and the last weekend only one direction will be operated.
LX2540 SIR-LCY 10:30-11:20 _____6_ ERJ-190 11 Feb 17 - 25 Feb 17
LX2541 LCY-SIR 11:50-14:40 _____6_ ERJ-190 04 Feb 17 – 18 Feb 17
The route will be operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss, flights are now bookable via the Swiss website enter London (Lon) and Sion (Sir) and the appropriate dates in the search boxes.
Until recently landing a commercial aircraft at Sion airport was quite challenging requiring an initial decent from 16,000ft on a steep 6 degree glide slope to avoid the mountains on either side. At 3000ft (by the hospital) the pilot had to make a turn and visually line up the aircraft with the runway in order to land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1pu84CoMsM
Since February it's been possible to land there using a GPS approach system (RNAV (RNP 0.3)) on a much more comfortable 3.6 degree glide slope right down to the runway. Upgrading the instrument landing system would have been much too expensive, especially now that the air force won't be paying the airport
CHF 10 million a year to use it.
LX2540 SIR-LCY 10:30-11:20 _____6_ ERJ-190 11 Feb 17 - 25 Feb 17
LX2541 LCY-SIR 11:50-14:40 _____6_ ERJ-190 04 Feb 17 – 18 Feb 17
The route will be operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss, flights are now bookable via the Swiss website enter London (Lon) and Sion (Sir) and the appropriate dates in the search boxes.
Until recently landing a commercial aircraft at Sion airport was quite challenging requiring an initial decent from 16,000ft on a steep 6 degree glide slope to avoid the mountains on either side. At 3000ft (by the hospital) the pilot had to make a turn and visually line up the aircraft with the runway in order to land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1pu84CoMsM
Since February it's been possible to land there using a GPS approach system (RNAV (RNP 0.3)) on a much more comfortable 3.6 degree glide slope right down to the runway. Upgrading the instrument landing system would have been much too expensive, especially now that the air force won't be paying the airport
CHF 10 million a year to use it.
Topic last updated on 17-August-2016 at 22:57