Skyguide manages record traffic and stabilises its finances

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.

Committed to service quality

Skyguide recorded a consolidated profit of 55.2 million Swiss francs in 2025, after having posted a loss in the previous year (–18.9 million francs). The key driver of this result was higher air navigation charges: at the start of 2025, Skyguide increased en route charges by 38 per cent and charges for landings by 24 per cent, better reflecting the actual costs incurred. This charge increase is still subject to approval by the European Commission.

At the same time, the company invested 70 million francs in operations and technology. It also repaid 41 million francs of its Covid loan to the federal government. In total, Skyguide has now repaid 86 million francs of the original 250 million francs loan.

While the financial situation has stabilised for the moment, structural challenges persist. Increasing regulatory requirements, necessary investments in system stabilisation and rising personnel costs are adding pressure. Skyguide is therefore reviewing its structures and processes. An internal task force is examining where and how Skyguide can simplify procedures, clarify responsibilities and strengthen its financial foundations.

“We are acting swiftly but without haste. We are setting clear priorities and aligning our resources strictly with our statutory mandate,” says Skyguide CEO Peter Merz. Safety remains the top priority in this process. “But it is also about safeguarding the quality of our services for our partners, customers and their passengers, and about securing our economic stability in the long term.”

Read Skyguide’s annual report 2025.

Find graphics on air traffic in Switzerland in 2025 in image and HTML format.

Did you know? What IFR means

IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules. These flights follow clearly defined procedures. Pilots rely on cockpit instruments and instructions from air traffic control rather than primarily on visual cues. The majority of commercial air transport is conducted under these rules.