# SWISS cancels its Nov. 25 Dubai return. The route stays shut through March 27

SWISS, together with the Lufthansa Group, is holding Zurich–Dubai until the end of the winter schedule on March 27, 2027. A second daily Zurich–Delhi flight returns Dec. 2, mostly on an Airbus A340.

By Patrick Karsh · Lounge Frog
Published: 2026-11-11T14:59:31.834812Z
Updated: 2026-11-11T15:00:11.302743Z
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![A SWISS Airbus A340-300. SWISS had planned to use this type on winter Zurich–Dubai flights and will mostly use it on the extra Zurich–Delhi service from Dec. 2.](https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/0cc56991-cfed-44b3-820c-2dc45983fa76/3324cf7bf519a88381dd77f99d832d58.jpg)

SWISS has called off the Zurich–Dubai restart that was due on Nov. 25, 2026. In [Newsbrief #51](https://newsroom.swiss.com/en/middle-east-flight-operations--updates-newsbrief/), published Nov. 11, the airline says it has decided, together with the Lufthansa Group, to suspend that planned resumption until the end of the 2026/27 winter flight schedule on March 27.

The date in the newsbrief is written as "27 March," without a year. The same notice ties it to the end of the 2026/27 winter schedule, so the hold runs through March 27, 2027. [SWI swissinfo](https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/swiss-continues-to-suspend-flights-to-dubai/92363892) reported the same date later the same day, citing SWISS.

This is the second postponement of a restart that was first advertised for late October. Travelers holding winter tickets on the route should expect a cancellation and a rebooking, not a flight to Dubai on a SWISS aircraft before the winter schedule ends.

## If you hold a Zurich–Dubai ticket this winter

SWISS says affected passengers will be informed of the cancellation and rebooked on alternative flights. Its Customer Service Center is available 24 hours a day at +41 (0)848 700 700.

Today's notice does not mention a full refund. That is a change in wording from the [Oct. 23 update](https://newsroom.swiss.com/en/middle-east-flight-operations--updates-newsbrief/) on the same page, which offered flexible rebooking or a full refund when the restart was pushed from Oct. 27 to Nov. 25. If you want a refund rather than another routing, ask the service center in writing and keep a record of the reply.

Do not assume a partner flight with a SWISS flight number will operate as ticketed. Confirm the operating carrier, the new date, and the airport before you travel. If Dubai was only a connection, ask for a routing that does not depend on Zurich–Dubai this winter.

For the broader patchwork of airline notices, see our [guide to Middle East flight disruptions](/news/middle-east-flight-disruptions-what-you-are-owed-october-2026) and our October tracker of [who was still flying to Dubai](/news/who-is-flying-to-dubai-airline-return-dates-october-2026). Those pages were written before today's SWISS update, so treat the dates below as the current SWISS position.

## The extra Delhi flight comes back on Dec. 2

At the same time, SWISS will reinstate its expanded Zurich–Delhi schedule from Dec. 2 until the end of the same winter timetable. The regular daily service continues. A second daily flight will mostly be operated by an Airbus A340, the airline says.

Today's brief does not list flight numbers, departure times, or the aircraft for the regular daily service. It also does not say every extra flight will be an A340. Earlier this year, when SWISS kept a second daily Delhi flight through the summer, those extra flights used an Airbus A330 and flew as LX2646 and LX2647. Those summer times and flight numbers should not be assumed for the winter add-back.

The Delhi move fits a pattern already described on the same newsbrief page. In May, SWISS said that with Dubai still suspended it was putting available aircraft on routes with strong demand, and that demand to and from India had risen. It has also just added a third Indian city, with [Zurich–Bengaluru nonstops](/news/swiss-zurich-bengaluru-first-flight-october-2026) that began Oct. 27.

Aviation accounts noticed the Delhi add-back quickly. One popular post said the extra flights "will now be operated by the A340." SWISS's own wording is narrower: the second daily flight will "mostly" be an Airbus A340.

https://x.com/TIAG747/status/2120474606893224219

[SWISS](/airlines/lx) still flies the four-engine A340-300 on long-haul routes. In a [Sept. 9 brief](https://newsroom.swiss.com/en/middle-east-flight-operations--updates-newsbrief/), the airline said the planned winter Dubai service, under flight numbers LX242 and LX243, would mainly use an A340-300 and would include Premium Economy. That Dubai plan is now on hold through the winter. Today's brief describes the A340 mainly for the extra Delhi flights, not for a winter Dubai service.

## This is the second time the restart date has slipped

SWISS first said, on Sept. 9, that daily Zurich–Dubai would return on Oct. 27. It also said the flights scheduled for Oct. 25 and 26, at the start of the winter timetable, could not be operated. On Oct. 23, [we reported](/news/lufthansa-group-dubai-flights-delayed-november-25-2026) that SWISS and the Lufthansa Group had postponed that restart to Nov. 25, after first aiming for late October.

Today's brief moves the date again, this time to the end of the winter schedule. SWISS cites "operational reasons." It does not name a new summer restart date, and it does not say flights will automatically resume on March 28.

The recent SWISS dates for this route are:

| Announced | What SWISS said about Dubai | Planned date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sept. 9, 2026 | Daily Zurich–Dubai would resume, mainly on an A340-300 | Oct. 27, 2026 |
| Oct. 23, 2026 | That resumption was postponed | Nov. 25, 2026 |
| Nov. 11, 2026 | The Nov. 25 restart is suspended until the winter schedule ends | March 27, 2027 |

The source for each row is the dated entry on [SWISS's rolling Middle East newsbrief](https://newsroom.swiss.com/en/middle-east-flight-operations--updates-newsbrief/).

```diagram
type: timeline
title: SWISS Zurich–Dubai restart dates in 2026
source: [SWISS Newsbrief #49–#51](https://newsroom.swiss.com/en/middle-east-flight-operations--updates-newsbrief/)
---
2026-09-09: SWISS says daily Zurich–Dubai will resume on Oct. 27, mainly on an A340-300 as LX242 and LX243
2026-10-23: Together with the Lufthansa Group, SWISS postpones that restart to Nov. 25
2026-11-11: The Nov. 25 restart is suspended until the end of the winter schedule on March 27, 2027
2026-12-02: A second daily Zurich–Delhi flight returns, mostly on an Airbus A340, through the same winter period
```

The Dubai gap is now much longer than a one-month delay. SWISS flights to and from Dubai have been off the schedule for most of 2026, with a string of extensions that began in March. [KLM](/news/klm-amsterdam-dubai-cancelled-winter-2026-2027) has also said it will not fly Amsterdam–Dubai for the whole winter, with no flights until late March 2027. That is a similar end date, from a different airline's own notice.

## What today's update does not cover

The Nov. 11 notice is limited. It does not give a status for Tel Aviv, Beirut, or other Middle East cities. Older entries on the same page discussed those routes, but those entries are months old and should not be read as today's plan.

It also does not spell out a group-wide Lufthansa map. SWISS says the Dubai decision was taken together with the Lufthansa Group. As of this writing, we have not found a matching Nov. 11 release on the group's own newsroom that we can independently confirm. We are not repeating unverified claims about Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Rome, or Berlin.

SWISS has not said why the Nov. 25 date became unworkable, beyond "operational reasons." Earlier briefs on the same page pointed to the situation in the Middle East and, in March, to temporary limits on flights at Dubai's airports. Today's notice does not repeat those explanations, and we are not filling in a cause that the airline did not state.

If you are booked on [SWISS](/airlines/lx) between [Zurich](/airports/zrh) and [Dubai](/airports/dxb) this winter, watch your booking and call the service center if the airline has not already reached you. If you were counting on a Nov. 25 return to the route, that date is no longer the plan. The next date SWISS has put on the calendar is the end of the winter schedule on March 27, 2027.