Europe's skies are getting wider

Air Traffic Control Authorities are building a new route network in Europe. The new air lanes will be broader, simpler, and even shorter. However, between February-25-99 and the time the new system takes effect, some temporary bottlenecks may (DID ALREADY THIS THURSDAY/FRIDAY) take effect, especially over Switzerland, France and Benelux, and consequently individual flights may be delayed, or even on occasion be cancelled.

If you are in Switzerland and flying Swissair/Delta/Austrian/Sabena/TAP/Turkish/AOM/Crossair/Lauda/Tyrolean or Air Litteral you can dial 0800 800 570 from 06:30 to 24:00 for last minute detailed information (for swiss pagers there is also an automatic flight pager service).

Swissair recently posted the following news release on their web site concerning this:

New airway system comes on-line
Swissair well prepared for ATC delays

Zurich, February 24, 1999 - Air services over much of western Europe will face
substantial delays from February 25, as the second step is taken in a general
restructuring of the continent's airways. The changes will ultimately provide more
capacity aloft; but in the shorter term, capacity will be reduced for safety reasons,
and delays are sure to result. Swissair has made extensive preparations to
minimise the inconvenience to its customers, providing more information channels
and a range of extra services and facilities at the airports concerned.

Much of Swissair's efforts has been focused on making information as readily available as
possible. The company will be keeping customers abreast of developments via its
www.swissair.com website, by Teletext (page 480 onwards), with a special paging service
for Swiss-based mobile phone users, through a dedicated Swiss hotline on 0800 800 570,
and by providing much-expanded ground services teams. The hotline is available
exclusively to travellers on Swissair flights and those of its partner airlines. Special
telephone lines will also be provided at Zurich and Geneva airports, on 157 1060 and 157
1500 respectively. In addition, Swissair intends to work together closely with other airlines
during the changeover period: actions here will include pooling some flights to shared
destinations, to help minimise total aircraft movements.

Swissair also intends to deploy additional personnel to keep passengers fully informed and
looked after at their airport of departure. Customers at Zurich Airport, for instance, will be
offered a wide range of special services and facilities including:

special drinks: free coffee, orange juice and mineral water in Terminal A, at the
downstairs coaching gates, at the transfer desk and in the airside arrivals hall.
special opening hours: the airport's restaurants will adapt their business hours to
situational needs.
special Internet and e-mail services: the Terminal A check-in concourse will host a
large-screen Internet show with DJs and e-mail stations.
a special Kids' Corner with activities for three-to-eleven-year-olds including painting,
modelling and face painting, all under careful supervision, and with pagers provided
for the parents. The Kids' Corner will be located near the "Gr�ezi" bus arrivals point
on the Arrivals level in Terminal A, and will be open from 08:00 to midnight.
a special cinema showing movies and trailers, located in the Terminal A Pier and
open from 08:00 to midnight.
special videos: widescreen movies and trailers on the Departures level of the
Terminal A Pier, from 08:00 to midnight.
special games: "chess on the floor" on the Terminal A mezzanine level, from 08:00
to midnight.
special tours of the airport, every hour from 10:00 to 18:00, departing from the
mezzanine floor of the Terminal A Pier.

I flew Sunday from LHR to GVA and all was well. So it seems they might be complete with the change.

I'm really, really, really happy that they did this. If you fly mid-day in Europe during peak seasons, you are guaranteed 1 hour delays on most flights. I hope this fixes that.