Flights between London City Airport and Zürich have resumed.

Passengers have been able to fly to Switzerland’s largest city from the hub in the Royal Docks from today (May 12).

Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) is initially operating two rotations a week, although the schedule is set to increase with an expected surge in demand for leisure and business travel as lockdown restrictions ease.

London City Airport’s head of aviation, Anne Doyere, said: "We are delighted Swiss has returned to the airport to restore an important business and leisure connection between London City and Zürich.

"Zürich is a key centre for international business, finance and tourism, so this is very positive news for our passengers."

As the UK’s vaccination programme continues and international travel restrictions are relaxed further in the weeks ahead, the airport expects more passengers will return to flying to European destinations.

London City has said Swiss will scale up its routes and schedules from the hub as leisure and business traffic picks up.

The Swiss national carrier also expects to restore its route from London City to Geneva in August.

The news comes as international travel to and from the UK is set to restart on Monday, May 17.

A vastly reduced flight schedule has been operating out of the airport in recent months due to lockdown restrictions.

A traffic light system will determine the testing and quarantine arrangements passengers are required to follow.

Switzerland has been placed in the amber category. This means travellers from England will need to take a pre-departure test and further tests on days two and eight of their return. They will also need to self-isolate at home for 10 days unless exempt.

Zurich was the airport’s fourth most popular route in 2019, with almost 430,000 passengers flying between the two hubs, according to London City.

Tamur Goudarzi Pour, chief commercial officer at Swiss, said: "We are very pleased to resume connections from Zurich and Geneva to London City.

"Its proximity to the city centre and convenient size with short distances make London City Airport equally attractive for our business and leisure travelers."