An Edelweiss Airbus A340-300 experienced a bird strike on December 1, 2025, during its landing at Zurich Airport (ZRH) in Switzerland. The aircraft touched down and taxied to the gate without any issues, according to a report by The Aviation Herald.

During a post-flight maintenance inspection, technicians discovered damage to the aircraft’s fourth engine on the right wing. The maintenance team repaired the engine promptly, and the aircraft returned to service on December 3, 2025, per tracking data from Flightradar24.

A Closer Look Into The Incident

On December 1, 2025, a 22-year-old Edelweiss Airbus A340-300, registered as HB-JMC, was operating flight WK38 from Liberia Guanacaste International Airport (LIR) to Zurich Airport Upon landing in Zurich, the quadjet ingested birds into its right-side engine, causing damage to the engine’s blades.

The aircraft remained on the ground for approximately 25 hours following the incident and returned to service on December 3, 2025, operating a flight from Zurich Airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, per Flightradar24.

According to ch-aviation, the Edelweiss Airbus A340 was originally ordered by Swiss in 2002. Edelweiss has been operating the widebody aircraft since April 2023. This A340 is configured to seat 300 passengers in a two-class layout, with 29 seats in business class and 271 in economy class. As of September 30, 2025, the aircraft had accumulated 108,773 flight hours and 12,443 flight cycles. The aircraft is fitted with four CFM International CFM56 engines.

The Airbus A340-300: A Widebody Nearing Its End

The Airbus A340, once a widely used long-haul widebody aircraft, has become increasingly rare in commercial aviation due to its age and the inefficiency of operating four engines. According to ch-aviation, only 37 Airbus A340-300s remain in active service worldwide, flown by 12 operators. Lufthansa is currently the largest operator of the Airbus A340-300, with 13 of the aircraft actively flying in its fleet.

Mahan Air follows with six A340-300s, while Edelweiss and Swiss each operate four. South African Airways and Kam Air each operate two A340-300s. Meanwhile, AirX Charter, Eswatini Air, Hi Fly Malta, Meraj Air, Qatar Amiri Flight, and USC each have one A340-300 in active service. Both Swiss carriers are gradually phasing out their A340 fleets in favor of newer-generation widebody aircraft.

In October 2025, Edelweiss ferried the first of its five Airbus A340-300s to Teruel Airport in Spain, a facility well known for long-term aircraft storage and, in many cases, final retirements. Looking ahead, the Airbus A350-900 will become the backbone of Edelweiss’ long-haul fleet, offering greater efficiency while carrying more passengers than the A340. Both Edelweiss and Swiss expect to retire their fleets of A340 widebodies by mid-2027.

Airbus A350s Will Replace Edelweiss’ A340 Fleet

Edelweiss Air is phasing out its Airbus A340 fleet as part of a broader modernization effort, replacing the aging quadjets with next-generation Airbus A350 twinjets. The Swiss leisure airline welcomed its first A350-900 in March of this year and now operates four of the type.

The carrier has two more Airbus A350-900s on order, with all expected to join the fleet by the end of 2026, according to the airline’s website. Beyond being more fuel-efficient and cost-effective than the five Airbus A340s they will replace, the new aircraft also offer increased passenger capacity.

Fleet data from aeroLOPA indicates that Edelweiss’s A350-900s can accommodate up to 339 passengers in a two-class layout, featuring 30 lie-flat business-class seats arranged 2-2-2, and 309 economy seats arranged 3-3-3. Of these, 63 are marketed as ‘Economy Max,’ offering additional legroom.