Only one domestic flight is currently in operation in Switzerland – the one connecting international hubs of Zurich and Geneva, which is operated by SWISS only. But some legislators want to open more routes to foreign carriers as well.
Under the legislative changes approved by the Council of States on September 16th, airlines headquartered in the European Union or EFTA (Norway and Iceland), would be allowed to offer flights within Switzerland.
(Liechtenstein is also a member of EFTA but it doesn’t have its own airline).
However, this would only be permitted “in exceptional cases” deputies emphasised – that is, “if no Swiss company wished to serve the route.”
Another requirement: the distance between the two destinations is not practical by train.
Which specific routes are under discussion?
While the measure could also extend to the route between Geneva and Zurich, the debate is focused on the one between Geneva and Lugano, a journey that takes around five hours by train.
SWISS used to operate flights between Geneva and the Ticino city for many years but they ended in 2017 due to lack of sustained demand.
Lugano-bound flights from Zurich were also discontinued at the same time, for the same reason.
However, Ticino deputy Fabio Regazzi, one of the motion’s instigators, argued that reintroducing Lugano-bound flights (operated by either domestic or foreign airlines) would boost the canton’s economy.
‘Unwise’ move
Not all legislators are… on board, however.
For a Green deputy Mathias Zopfi, encouraging and supporting domestic flights “would send a signal that is unwise,” he said, citing climate change as the reason for his opposition.
He pointed out that a person could travel by train for a year and a half before generating the CO2 equivalent of a single round-trip flight.
Furthermore, the time saved by flying amounts to only half the duration of the train journey.
Therefore, “we don’t need more flying, but less,” he concluded.
READ MORE: Why flights between Geneva and Zurich are so controversial
The National Council will weigh in on this issue next.
