A look at Oliver Buchhofer, chief of operations at the Swiss control centre: Ensures you fly safely

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“We are affected by problems from all sides,” explains Oliver Buchhofer, 46, of the Emergency Command Center. Buchhofer is Head of Operations at Swiss, so he is the one who has to keep the airline running as smoothly as possible.

Along with some 40 people working in the Operations Control Center during the day. The operational control center, Swiss nerve centre, is only half a floor above the emergency room, and distances will shorten in the event of a crisis.

The emergency room is less used now than it used to be. “During the corona epidemic, this room was our living room, so to speak,” Buchhofer says. Daily challenges are great even in normal times.

Switzerland is not happy

For example in Germany air traffic control has a chronic staffing problem, in France there are strikes all the time, in Italy as next Saturday – just when many people in Zurich want to travel south. All directions are really problematic if there is still a storm front over the airport.

This is reflected in Swiss’s operating figures: “We are not satisfied with where we are now,” says Buchhofer self-critically. While almost 98 percent of all flights can be operated, the measured values ​​for missed connecting flights, punctuality and long delays are in some cases far from airline specifications.

homework finished

About 3,000 passengers miss their connecting flights each week, with Switzerland’s target being no more than half. Swiss blames not himself but the very unstable and complex air traffic system: “Swiss has done his homework,” Buchhofer was convinced.

It ensures that the aircraft is technically operational and that there is sufficient personnel at all times. Accordingly, the number of cockpit and cabin personnel is constantly being increased. Pre-departure passenger information is also constantly being improved and passengers are informed via e-mail about the ideal check-in time.

system at the station

“We’ve prepared very heavily for this summer, but there’s still a lot of pressure on the company right now,” says Buchhofer. But he also knows that: “There’s no point in giving the package to each other – the entire aviation industry is a tight-knit machine. The best way to break down barriers is to share ideas together.”

The system is on the edge, no further growth is possible. Especially when things aren’t as calm as Wednesday this week in the control center. Due to Tuesday’s storm, seven Swiss flights had to be canceled and two flights were diverted. This means a lot of effort is put into bringing stranded passengers to Zurich. Or rebooking all passengers whose flights were victims of the storm.

New threat of distress due to strike in Italy: Sales halted for six affected flights. It is likely that flights will be cancelled, affecting about 900 passengers. Passengers still in Milan can be rebooked on the train on a regular weekend, but this should be difficult for all holiday travelers. Others can finally hope to fly south on Sunday.

Source :Blick