Sleeve Wing and MissChief. Who is showing xenophobic tendencies now? As a "gastarbeiter in der Schweiz" for over 20 years I agree with a lot of what you say regarding their attitudes to other nations but not that they actively favour Swissair to the disadvantage of other foreign carriers. My experience is just the opposite. We all sit around for hours trying to get out of their poorly designed airports (single runway in GVA and converging runway/ noise restricted ZRH). Anyway, quite often the reason for the restriction is not the departure airport but rather the arrival one, especially if it is located in the UK - too many budget airlines operating there?