Hmm - so Emirates flight 380 is actually operated by a B777 :(
All direct flights to Zurich from the UK & Ireland
| Flights from | Airport code | Airline name | Find prices | Route to | Route from | Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | BHX | Swiss |  | flights from Birmingham to Zurich | flights to Zurich from Birmingham | |
| Bristol | BRS | Helvetic | | flights from Bristol to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Bristol | |
| Cardiff | CWL | Helvetic | | Flights from Cardiff to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Cardiff | |
| Dublin | DUB | Aer Lingus | | flights from Dublin to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Dublin | |
| Dublin | DUB | Swiss | | Flights from Dublin to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Dublin | |
| Edinburgh | EDI | BMI | | flights from Edinburgh to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Edinburgh | Click here to book direct with BMI. |
| Guernsey | GCI | Blue Islands | | Flights from Guernsey to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Guernsey | |
| Inverness | INV | Helvetic | | flights from Inverness to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Inverness | |
| Jersey | JER | Blue Islands | | flights from Jersey to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Jersey | |
| London City | LCY | BA (British Airways) | | flights from London City to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London City | Book directly with BA for the cheapest flight on the internet. |
| London City | LCY | Swiss | | flights from London City to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London City | |
| London Gatwick | LGW | Easyjet | | Flights from London Gatwick to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London Gatwick | |
| London Heathrow | LHR | BA (British Airways) | | flights from London Heathrow to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London Heathrow | Book directly with BA for the cheapest flight on the internet. |
| London Heathrow | LHR | Swiss | | flights from London Heathrow to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London Heathrow | |
| London Luton | LTN | Easyjet | | Flights from London Luton to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from London Luton | |
| Manchester | MAN | Swiss | | flights from Manchester to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Manchester | |
| Shannon | SNN | Helvetic | | Flights from Shannon to Zurich | Flights to Zurich from Shannon |
Flight Summary
Flights to Zurich are available from four London airports (City, Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton) and three UK regional hubs, Birmingham International, Manchester and Edinburgh.Destination Summary
Zurich is a major financial centre, and an ideal gateway for ski resorts in central and eastern Switzerland.Quick Facts
- Airport Code: ZRH
- Alternative Name: Kloten
- Miles From London: 772
James Says
Direct flights
Direct flights to Zurich are generally available from cities which have an extensive financial services industry because the Swiss city is one of the world's leading banking centres.
Flights to Zürich are also often used as feeder flights for long-haul routes with national carrier Swiss. Naturally, the range of flights to Zürich from London is extensive -- with Stansted airport being the only London airport not to have links with the Swiss financial capital.
Connecting flights
With the frequent links between London and Zürich, a popular option for connecting flights is via London Heathrow, whereas airports which don't have a link to Heathrow are most likely to offer flights to Zürich via Amsterdam with KLM.
Other alternative options for connecting flights include flights via Paris with Air France or flights via Frankfurt International with Lufthansa.
Cheapest flights to Zürich
For a long time, Zürich airport has been perceived by no-frills airlines as a virtual no go zone because it is so expensive to use. Indeed, easyJet have a long history of complaints about the airport being built to suit the national airline Swiss, rather than low-cost carriers. This meant that for several years, there were no budget flights to Zürich from London or any other UK airport. For the time being, Zürich airport is well off Ryanair's radar, and we expect it to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Sadly, easyJet have also cancelled their flights from Manchester to Zurich.
Alternatives
The most obvious alternative arrival point to Zurich is Geneva, which has flights from a huge range of UK airports, although many of these flights are tied to the ski season, rather than being year-round operations. Trains operate direct from Geneva airport to Zürich every half an hour, with a journey time of two hours and 50 minutes, however, Swiss trains are extortionately expensive, unless you can bag a special deal, and these are only offered 2 weeks in advance. This means that even seemingly cheap Flights to Geneva with budget airlines end up being much more expensive.
Basel airport is much closer to Zürich than Geneva, but it does not offer anything like the same level of flight connections from the UK. Frequent buses provide a connection between Basel airport and Basel Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), and make it possible to reach Zürich in an hour and a quarter.
Mark Says
The 'work hard, play hard' ethos is very much alive in Zurich . The home of the Swiss banker (not to be confused with the cockney rhyming slang), Zurich also offers the best nightlife in the country. As one would expect in the land of the cuckoo clock and Rolex, everything runs like clockwork.
Where else in the world can you time trains to the second? But this is not a city of obsessive compulsives, they just like things to run smoothly There are many attractions to lure visitors to the city, including the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the finest shopping streets in Europe, a beautiful Old Town , a host of top museums and galleries, not to mention the vibrant restaurant and bar scene.
Zurich lies at the top end of Lake Zurich , divided in half by the River Limmat. West of the Limmat Bahnhofstrasse spills out from the station, the east side of the river is flanked by the Limmatquai, another popular shopping street lined with graceful old guild-houses.
Central Zurich is very compact and is a marvellous city to stroll around, although the free bike loans may tempt you to peddle everywhere instead. Zurich is a popular 'getaway' destination throughout the year, but it gets especially busy during the summer. Accommodation can be hard to find during peak periods, so it best to book in advance if possible.
Your Comments (8)
Wolfgang1564
Have you actually tried making this journey? Expect to pay the same again on top of whatever you paid for your low cost flight to Geneva, SBB are total con artists! Reliable - yes, cheap, never! And the greedy sods have a complete monopoly.
Mary McDiarmid
Can't complain - your rating doesn't work yet, but Zurich Airport is definitely 5 stars!
James Avery
Mary McDiarmid
James Avery
easyJet have had an ongoing spat with Zürich airport management, as it has one of the highest passenger facility charges of any major European airport, as well as a noise pollution charge on top. Although Zürich was one of the relatively earlier destinations easyJet operated to (I flew there myself back in 2001), they pulled out for several years claiming that costs were too high for no-frills airlines. Eventually, they resumed their flights from Luton to Zürich, and I was still quite surprised when they launched the Manchester route.
You can still take flights to Basel or Zürich with Swiss from Manchester, but I'm afraid their fares to Zürich are often subject to what I call hub direct syndrome. Airlines which have a hub and spoke network are very good at providing reasonably cheap flight connections when you fly through their hub, but if you want to fly to the hub, you can expect to pay a great deal more. This is a simple question of economics -- direct flights are more convenient, so they can attract a premium price, and this can sometimes still be the case even when there is low-cost competition on the route. If you want flights to somebody else's hub, then you may well find some attractive prices if you fly through Zürich -- so Swiss may well be cheaper than emirates for flights to Dubai, and they might well be very competitive with Turkish airlines flights to Istanbul, but if you want the cheapest flights from Manchester to Zürich, you may well now have to connect via Paris or Amsterdam instead. Of course, sometimes they will do special offers, and it always pays to look around well in advance and be flexible with dates.
Another temptation might be to see if you can fly somewhere else and then get the train to Zürich, but in reality, I don't think this will be worth the hassle. The most obvious alternative airport is Geneva, but that is still three hours away, and trains in Switzerland are notoriously expensive, unless you're able to bag a special offer ticket, but these are only sold no more than 14 days before hand -- not much use if you are trying to combine a train ticket with a flight booked months in advance. It might well be cheaper to get a train from Paris to Zürich, but you'll still have to mess around with connections, and you're looking at turning a two-hour flight into a whole day's journey. It'd be much easier just to take the train down to Milton Keynes and jump on the current shuttle to Luton airport from there.
You used to be able to fly with Ryanair to Friedrichshavn in Germany, and then take the ferry across Lake Constance from there -- this was a fantastically scenic diversion route, but I'm afraid this route has long gone.
Colin
Do you think there is any chance of helvetic taking a look at Leeds Bradford or maybe Jet2 looking at Basel, as I have family in Olten, so that would be just as useful.
I sometimes look at flights to Geneva during the ski season, but adding the train on top is still pricey, even with a discount card.
James Avery
Maybe they will look at the opportunities to visit North Yorkshire from Leeds, but I don't see Jet2 launching any flights to Zurich anytime soon. Flights to Basel would be slightly more likely but I still think that would be a bit of a nice destination - it is much easier to fill planes to Geneva, even if it is expensive to continue onwards to the east of Switzerland from there.
BA Barb