EU rules set maximum altitudes, weight limitations and restrictions on the airspace in which drones can fly. Long range flights will require ground-based controllers to have a special license that is recognised by both Switzerland and the EU.
Switzerland will adopt the EU ‘U-Space’ standard that sets measures for safely integrating drones and conventional aircraft in the same airspace.
Environmental, privacy and security regulations will also be harmonised, according to a statement from the joint Swiss-EU committee on aviation.
Different types of drone flights will be assigned to three different categories depending on the type of risk they pose.
The joint committee has also agreed to some small adjustments to the system of assigning airline slots at airports.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
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French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
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A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
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Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
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The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
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Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
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The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
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A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
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Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
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New technologies, created 'for good', are increasingly being used to wage war. Switzerland is closely affected by this phenomenon.
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