New route to Switzerland takes off

A new route between London Southend and Switzerland celebrated taking off today (27 October) with a water cannon salute from the fire service at the Essex airport.

The SkyWork Airlines service now operates twice daily* 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 – or longer - trip to the capital city of Switzerland.

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

SkyWork chose to move its UK service to London Southend due to its reputation for fantastic customer service – evidenced by the ‘Best Airport in Britain’ award from Which? magazine two years running – along with its simply easier, super swift links to the heart of London.

The London Southend railway station is just 100 paces from the terminal building with up to eight trains per hour getting you direct to London Liverpool Street in just 53 minutes. The 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 (30 minutes maximum if collecting luggage).

SkyWork Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Maren Fides Schmelz said “We are pleased to be connected twice a day with London’s sixth airport, customer friendly London Southend Airport and we are looking forward to an engaging and exciting collaboration. SkyWork Airlines fly passengers from London Southend directly to Bern. 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.”

London 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 also very popular with skiers, being the closest (just 30 minutes by direct train) to the Jungfrau Region with Gstaad and the iconic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.

Tickets are on sale now at www.flyskywork.com