Swiss airports advise travellers to get ready for long queues; heatwaves will ‘become the norm’ in Switzerland; and more news in our roundup on Friday.
Swiss airports advise travellers to get ready for long queues
As the peak travel season is already underway and will continue into August, Zurich and Basel EuroAirport are advising passengers – both those leaving and arriving – about longer waiting times at passport control.
This concerns particularly those who are going to or coming from outside the Schengen area.
Travellers can check up-to-date waiting times for check-in, security, and passport control at each airport’s website:
Heatwaves will ‘become the norm’ in Switzerland
As such, excessively hot weather is not a new phenomenon in Switzerland, having “always existed,” according to Reto Knutti, a climatologist at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.
But due to climate change, this baseline situation has shifted so drastically that temperatures have risen by nearly 3C.
“As a result, the heatwave threshold is crossed more frequently and is interrupted less often,” he said.
And we should all get used to it, because in the future, “this June heatwave will not be an exception, but the new norm,” he added.
Popular mountain train to become more expensive for Swiss residents
New ticket prices will soon go into effect for the Säntis cable car.
That’s because this rail line is withdrawing from SBB’s half-fare system and will charge all adults a flat rate of 50 francs for a two-way ticket.
While nothing will change, in terms of prices, for foreign tourists, Swiss residents, most of whom have a half-fare travel car, will end up paying more.
The reason for no longer accepting half-fare cards is that “we are replacing a system that previously created different prices. This has an impact, on our local guests. We say that openly,” according to managing director Jakob Gülünay.
Switzerland excels in terms of social mobility
The opportunities for social mobility – that is, improving ones’s socioeconomic standing without family connections – is more pronounced in Switzerland than elsewhere.
This is what emerges from a new study carried out by the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy (IWP) at the University of Lucerne.
It reveals that while family background generally shapes a person’s life – including income, education, and professional achievements – it is significantly less important in Switzerland.
That’s because, unlike in many other countries, a successful career is not necessarily linked to academic achievements. In Switzerland, skilled workers with strong vocational training and further education often earn more than university graduates, the study found.
READ MORE: Why Switzerland is a ‘land of opportunity’
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