New Italian helmet law will impact Swiss skiers; government wants to expand the use of Romansh and Italian to other parts of Switzerland; and more news in our roundup this Thursday.
Italy makes ski helmets mandatory, and it impacts Switzerland
Italy is introducing a new regulation for winter sports enthusiasts: a general requirement to wear a helmet will become obligatory on all Italian slopes, including for skiers, snowboarders, and even sledders.
In Switzerland, however, there is no law requiring the wearing of helmets, although this practice is strongly recommended.
But since some ski areas in Switzerland – for example, Zermatt – are linked with Italian slopes, all Swiss skiers bound for those areas will have to comply with the new rule and wear a helmet as well.
Government wants to expand the use of Romansh and Italian to other parts of Switzerland
The Federal Council is encouraging the promotion of Switzerland’s ‘minority’ national languages – Romansh and Italian – beyond their traditional territories in Graubünden and Ticino, respectively.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the ministers adopted a revision of the current law to this effect, the government announced in a press release.
Concurrently, the representation of the different linguistic communities in the federal administration will also be expanded.
READ ALSO: Here’s what you need to know about languages in Switzerland
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SWISS will reduce the number of its short-haul flights from Geneva airport
While it is adding new routes from Zurich to its summer 2026 timetable, the national airline announced that it will be cutting the number of flights to and from Geneva.
“We are reducing the number of destinations from Geneva because we need to optimise the use of our fleet between Zurich and Geneva due to a lack of resources,” a spokesperson for the airline said on Wednesday.
This move will affect five destinations: Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Oslo, and Munich, the latter now being served by Lufthansa, SWISS’s parent company.
From Geneva, SWISS will continue to offer 29 short-haul destinations, in addition to a direct flight to New York.
The summer 2026 schedule will come into effect on March 29th and will run until October 24th.
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The richest people in Switzerland are the biggest polluters, a study shows
Switzerland, which concentrates much of the world’s wealth, is also among the biggest polluters.
In fact, the country’s prosperity is linked to a high carbon footprint, according to a report by Oxfam, an international alliance of various humanitarian aid and development organisations.
Furthermore, in Switzerland, a person belonging to the richest 1 person of the population produces 673 kg of CO2 per day.
This is 26 times more than the amount produced by a person belonging to the poorest half of the Swiss population, Oxfam said.
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