Did Edelweiss Airlines recently commence flights from Zurich, Switzerland, to Colombo for the first time in history?

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Some major media platforms reported that an Edelweiss Airlines flight arrived in Sri Lanka for the first time in history. This is a fact-check we did to assess the accuracy of these claims.

Social Media Posts :

A mainstream media outlet has published a post stating, “Edelweiss Airlines has commenced flights to Sri Lanka from Zurich, Switzerland for the first time in history”.

Facebook | Archived Link Archived Link

Many other social media posts regarding this were published through Facebook.

We took steps to verify whether Swiss airline Edelweiss had indeed started flights from Zurich to Sri Lanka for the first time in history.

Fact Check :

According to archived records from the Airline industry forums, it appears that Edelweiss Air, Switzerland’s leading leisure airline and a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines, operated flights to Bandaranaike International Airport via Male way back in 2011.

lankaaviator.com | Archived Link

However, to get more concrete evidence, we checked the official releases from Edelweiss Air. We found a media advertisement they published in 2017 stating that they’d launch flights to Sri Lanka in 2018.

flyedelweiss.com | Archived Link

Meanwhile, local media reports and other online articles also indicated that Edelweiss Airlines will offer seasonal flights between Zurich and Colombo from November 3, 2018. These articles further note that an Edelweiss Airbus A340-300 aircraft would fly twice a week, connecting Zurich and Colombo, and that the new connection will allow Swiss and other European travellers to reach Sri Lanka with ease and comfort. You can refer to those reports from here, here, here and here.

The official Facebook page of the Swiss Embassy for Sri Lanka and the Maldives also posted a Facebook post about the first direct flight between Switzerland and Sri Lanka on November 4, 2018, as follows:

Facebook | Archived Lin

The company issued a press release that year stating that the Edelweiss flight schedule from Zurich to Colombo would increase to three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in the 2019/2020 winter season.

The company has also issued a press release stating that flights from Zurich to Colombo resumed in 2021 after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can refer to those press releases here, here, here, here and here. You can refer to some local news here, here and here.

The Bandaranaike International Airport also stated the following about the Edelweiss flight from Zurich to Colombo, which resumed in 2021.

Facebook | Archived Link

Reports on Edelweiss flights between Zurich and Colombo for 2022, 2023, and 2024 can be viewed from here, here and here.

With the start of the 2025 winter season, Swiss airline Edelweiss, part of the Lufthansa Group, began flights between Zurich and Colombo on October 28th. This flight arrived on an Airbus A340-300 (WK64) at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, and the airport welcomed the aircraft with a water salute. The Aviation Voice Facebook page also posted, stating that the flights would operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Archived Link

The official Facebook page of the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives posted the following.

The official Facebook page of Bandaranaike International Airport also published a post.

Facebook

However, it was reported that the Edelweiss Airbus would operate direct flights from Zurich to Colombo and from Colombo to Zurich, effective from October 26, 2025, instead of the triangular route it had been following: from Zurich to Colombo, Colombo to the Maldives, and back to Zurich. You can refer to those reports from here and here.

United Ventures, the local representative of Swiss airline Edelweiss, confirmed to us that Edelweiss Airbus began operating direct flights from Zurich to Colombo and from Colombo to Zurich this year. They confirmed that previously the flight had returned to Zurich after landing in Male. Now, this journey would be a direct flight from Colombo to Zurich.

Bandaranaike International Airport.

We inquired with the media division of the Bandaranaike International Airport regarding this, and they confirmed that the above mainstream media reports are slightly misleading and that, not for the first time in history, but for a long time now, the Edelweiss Airbus has been operating a direct winter flight between Zurich and Colombo.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation shows that media reports circulating on social media that Edelweiss Airlines commenced flights to Sri Lanka from Zurich, Switzerland, for the first time in history are false.

Edelweiss Airbus has been operating winter flights between Zurich and Colombo for many years. This is confirmed by the Edelweiss press releases, news reports, and photos, as well as by the media division of the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The recent change is that, instead of the return flight via Male until 2024, it is now a direct route from Colombo to Zurich. The flight arriving from Zurich remains the same as a direct flight to Colombo.