Environmentalists push for airline tax to fund free public transport vouchers; price of easyJet flights from Basel airport rocket; and more news in our roundup this Tuesday.
Airline tax to finance for public transport vouchers: Environmentalists launch petition drive
Even though the climate protection initiative failed at the ballot box on Sunday, the left is already planning a new proposal on climate policy.
Concretely, they want to impose taxes on airplane tickets and use this money to distribute free public transport vouchers to commuters living in Switzerland.
To accomplish this goal, the environmental organisation Umverkeh will be launching a new initiative in April, it announced on Monday.
Easyjet flights from Basel airport are now up to ‘1,682 percent more expensive’
Easyjet may be known as a ‘budget’ or ‘low-cost’ airline, but travellers booking tickets out of Basel’s EuroAirport for April and May are finding unusually high prices – up more than 1,000 percent in some cases over regular fares, reports say.
That’s because between April 15th and May 20th, the airport will be renovating its main runway; as a result, 25 companies which regularly use the airport have suspended their operations, and only Easyjet will fly to selected destinations from the airport’s secondary, shorter runway.
The airline is increasing its fares during the five-week period not only because it will not have any competition and will hold a virtual monopoly during this time.
Instead, it is because Easyjet “is investing in specialised pilot training specifically tailored to operations on the secondary runway,” the company said.
READ MORE: Basel airport to slash flights in spring 2026 with only one airline to operate
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And speaking of air travel…
SWISS further postpones its flights to the Middle East
The national airline is extending the suspension of its flights to Dubai until and including March 15th “due to the continued tense situation in the Middle East,” the company said in a press release on Monday.
Flights to Tel Aviv will remain suspended until and including April 2nd.
“The safety of crews and passengers is SWISS’s top priority at all times. In light of the current situation, SWISS has therefore decided to continue suspending these services for the time being,” the airline added.
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Don’t put your winter clothes away just yet
The mild weather of the past two weeks has given the impression that spring has come early and is here to stay.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
According to meteorologist Peter Wick, temperatures will gradually fall, with the colder front crossing the country by the end of the week.
Temperatures will drop from double digits to 5 or 6C and the snow line will descend to below 1,000 meters.
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