New route from Southend Airport to Switzerland takes off

A new route between Southend and Switzerland celebrated taking off today with a water cannon salute from the fire service based at Southend Airport.

The SkyWork Airlines service now operates twice daily Monday to Friday between London Southend and Bern and has been carefully scheduled to easily allow business and leisure travellers to make a swift and hassle free day trip to the capital city of Switzerland.

Flights now leave Southend Airport each day at 8.15am, arriving in Bern at 10.55am, with the return flight taking off from Bern at 6.40pm and arriving back in Essex at 7.30pm.

SkyWork say they chose to move their UK service to Southend due to the airport’s reputation for great customer service, along with its simply easier, quick links to London.

Southend Airport also promises its customers that they will wait for a maximum of 4-minutes to go through security, and those arriving with hand-luggage only can expect to travel from plane to train in just 15 minutes of the aircraft doors opening.

SkyWork Airlines Chief Commercial Officer, Maren Fides Schmelz, said: “We are pleased to be connected twice a day with London’s sixth airport and we are looking forward to an engaging and exciting collaboration. Bern Airport is just 10 km from the city center and easily accessible by train or by car – your ideal starting point for trips in the Swiss mountains.”

Southend Airport Chief Commercial Officer, Roger Clements, said: “We are delighted that SkyWork has taken the decision to move its operations from City to London’s newest, super fast airport. It is the unique customer service commitments that only we offer, along with unrivalled onward transport links, which have led to this move. We look forward to working with SkyWork and hope they are the first of many new partners we will be welcoming here at London Southend Airport.”

Bern has all the fantastic features of a capital city. Its unique cityscape – designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site – includes exceptional medieval buildings such as the Cathedral (Münster), the Clock Tower (Zytglogge) and 6km of arcades (Lauben) – the longest covered shopping promenade in Europe. It is also the home of the legendary Swiss chocolate Toblerone and Emmental cheese.

Bern airport is very popular with skiers, being just 30 minutes by train to the Jungfrau Region with Gstaad and the iconic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.