Steep rise in deportation flights from Switzerland

A total of 339 asylum seekers were deported from Switzerland on 49 special charter flights in 2023, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) confirmed. KEYSTONE

Switzerland deported three times as many people on special flights last year than in 2022, mostly to European Union countries, it was reported on Sunday.

A total of 339 asylum seekers were deported from the Alpine country on 49 special charter flights.

These were carried out under the Dublin asylum agreement, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency, citing a report by the Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

The rise in the number of flights has lowered their overall costs. In 2022, the average cost per person on a special flight was CHF13,000 ($14,500); last year, the figure was CHF7,300.

+ More about the Swiss asylum system and how it works

Outside the EU, special flights were made to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and South America, according to the newspaper. There were 24 deportation flights to African countries last year, including the first flights to Algeria and Iraq. The SEM said in February that many years of development work and confidence-building had paid off.

+ Asylum returns from Switzerland rose by a fifth in 2023

The number of deportations by special flight last year was only just below the record of 345 returns in 2016, SEM said. In 2022, 28 flights with 124 people took place.

Asylum seekers who receive a negative decision have the option of leaving Switzerland voluntarily. If they return, Switzerland gives them at least CHF1,000 as assistance. A special flight is only used if the person concerned decides against a voluntary return and does not want to leave on a scheduled flight.

A total of 5,742 people left Switzerland last year, either voluntarily or forcibly. This represents a 19% increase compared to 2022.

+ Read more: Switzerland joins calls for overhaul of European asylum rules

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. 

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].