Delta Air Lines Inc. is set to resume flights from Atlanta to Zurich four times a week next May as it prepares to launch its largest trans-Atlantic season ever next year.
The airline last flew to the Swiss city in 2019, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s airport blog.
The announcement comes on the heels of a record summer for Delta in the European market, as travelers engaged in what CEO Ed Bastian has called “revenge travel” during the first full season after the U.S. and other countries declared an official end to the COVID-19 pandemic in May.
The Swiss city will join 180 weekly flights to 21 destinations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East the hometown carrier flies from Atlanta.
While not the nation’s capital, Zurich is a key financial hub nad the largest city in Switzerland, a country of about 10 million that retains an outsiz influence in world affairs given its relative wealth, reputation for precision exports, vaunted diplomatic neutrality, open economy and strong banking system — though that last advantage has come into question this year with the takeover of embattled Credit Suisse by UBS, a global Swiss bank.
Georgia has benefited from the fact that Swiss companies tend to look first to the U.S. as they seek to diversify abroad.
According to a 2022 report by the Swiss Embassy in the U.S., some 66 Swiss-owned affiliates have operations in Georgia, accounting for 15,900 jobs. Swiss job creation in the state grew by 25 percent in the five years measured in the study — 2014-19, the latest figures available when it was completed in June 2022.
Swiss companies with a presence in Georgia include UBS, Schindler (elevators), Sigvaris, SITA, Swissport, Adecco, Chubb, Kuehne & Nagel, ABB, and yes, the insurer known simply as Zurich, among many others.
Atlanta is home to a Consulate General of Switzerland and a newly revamped Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce–Southeast.
Switzerland’s ambassador to the United States, Jacques Pitteloud, is set to appear at a World Affairs Council of Atlanta luncheon with his counterpart from Belgium Oct. 26 in Atlanta.
See Mr. Pitteloud’s views on Swiss-U.S. trade in this Global Atlanta interview: Ambassador: As Barriers Arise, Swiss-U.S. Relationship Shows Benefits of Free, Fair Trade
