Swiss pilots freeze GAV talks, accuse airline of 'Lufthansa way' and neglecting Swiss values

Stalled negotiations

The pilots' union Aeropers announced on Friday 25 July 2026 that it is pausing collective labour agreement (GAV) negotiations with Swiss International Air Lines until the end of August, and has cancelled planned negotiation days. The current GAV23 expires at the end of 2026, and ground personnel have already approved a new contract. The pilots, however, report that talks are proceeding sluggishly, with six negotiation blocks totalling 17 days having covered many topics but failing to close the gap on core issues.

The Lufthansa shadow

Aeropers says the impasse goes beyond duty schedules. In a statement, the union claimed Swiss is "going the Lufthansa way at the moment and neglecting Swiss values". Spokesperson Thomas Steffen told the Tages-Anzeiger that conditions like those at Lufthansa, where employees regularly strike, are not desirable. The airline's cabin crew have also shown resistance: since February 2026, they have been required to mention the Lufthansa Group during the standard passenger greeting, but reports indicate this is frequently and deliberately omitted.

Conditions like those at Lufthansa are not desirable.

Management's response

Swiss regrets the pause and says it remains ready to resume talks at any time. Dominik Jäggi, Head of Flight Operations, acknowledged that the two sides remain far apart on key points. He stressed that sustainable solutions require both parties to prioritise issues and compromise, rather than insisting on maximum demands. Jäggi countered the Lufthansa comparison by asserting that Swiss is at home in Switzerland and that direct exchange, reliability and willingness to compromise are part of the Swiss way of finding solutions.

Swiss is at home in Switzerland. Direct exchange, reliability and the willingness to compromise are part of our Swiss way of finding solutions together.

Pilot grievances

Aeropers says the situation regarding work-life planning and workload has not improved. There are still too few pilots, forcing Swiss to hand flights to wet-lease partners such as Helvetic Airways. The union's president, Janos Fazekas, wrote that Aeropers wants to avoid a permanently escalating conflict of the kind observed at Lufthansa, which it says would be neither productive nor sustainable and would not reflect Swiss values.

A permanently escalating conflict, as can be observed at Lufthansa, does not correspond to Swiss values and is neither productive nor sustainable.

Direct staff measures

With Aeropers not currently willing to talk, Swiss management is pursuing direct solutions with its workforce. It has offered pilots the option to work voluntarily until the age of 62, and within a single day numerous interested pilots registered for the programme. The airline says it remains committed to dialogue, but the clock is ticking: the current GAV runs until the end of 2026, and the union's pause stretches at least through August.