Skyguide manages record traffic and stabilises its finances

Air traffic in Switzerland reached a new record high in 2025. Skyguide safely managed more flights through Swiss airspace while also improving punctuality. Higher charges resulted in a positive annual result and give the company time to pursue structural improvements.

Skyguide handled a total of 1.346 million Instrument Flight Rules (IFR, see box) flights in 2025, an increase of 1.3 per cent compared with the previous year. Take-offs and landings also rose, reaching 487,515 movements ( 1.7 per cent). Notably, traffic levels fluctuated significantly, as many airlines altered their routes and schedules at short notice: only around 60 per cent of flights adhered exactly to their original plan. This presents a challenge for air navigation service providers across Europe, including Skyguide. To respond to this volatility, the Swiss air navigation service provider opens additional airspace sectors when required and where possible, which further strains already limited staffing resources.

Despite these demanding conditions, Skyguide succeeded in safely managing traffic in the airspace entrusted to it in 2025, while also improving punctuality: 96.3 per cent of all flights reached their destination within the defined time limits. Air traffic management‑related delay averaged 37 seconds per flight, significantly below the European average of more than two minutes. The proportion of flights delayed by more than 15 minutes fell to 1.42 per cent. The majority of delays in 2025 were due to weather conditions and, in isolated cases, ongoing capacity constraints.