Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
“Clear skies” is a phrase that passengers like to hear coming from the cockpit. When the same words come from air traffic control, however, something is wrong.
In recent years, incidents at Switzerland’s air navigation service provider Skyguide have repeatedly caused flight delays and, in some cases, the temporary closure of Swiss airspace. A new report now points to the need for corrective action.
Kind regards from Bern,
After another airspace closure, a report has revealed shortcomings in Skyguide’s safety system – which the air navigation services firm does not deny.
Do you sometimes have computer problems at work? They are frustrating and time-consuming. In some sectors, however, IT failures can have far more serious consequences. Last week, Switzerland’s air navigation service provider Skyguide was forced to close the airspace over Geneva for an hour due to a faulty software update.
A report by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO), cited by Swiss public broadcaster SRF, has now identified shortcomings in Skyguide’s safety systems. Incidents cannot be completely ruled out, an SFAO representative said. What matters is how quickly Skyguide responds to ensure air traffic control is not interrupted.
Skyguide does not dispute the findings but points to chronic underfunding. Media have repeatedly reported on financial problems at the air navigation service in recent years. Skyguide says it now intends to take action: infrastructure projects such as an alternative control tower in Zurich are planned, staff training is to be improved, and cooperation with the army and Swisscom in case of emergencies is being examined.
Violent scenes erupted in the Bellechasse prison in canton Fribourg on Monday, as dozens of prisoners barricaded themselves for hours in protest, causing significant damage.
You don’t often see a headline like this in Switzerland: “Unprecedented riot at Bellechasse prison”. Violent unrest erupted on Monday evening at the canton Fribourg facility, as Swiss public broadcaster, RTS reported.
The prisoners refused to return to their cells and barricaded themselves in a wing of the prison, which they then vandalised. The riot was sparked by protests over what inmates described as excessive prices for phone calls and extra food, as well as dissatisfaction with visiting conditions.
It took more than three hours for prison staff, assisted by cantonal police, to regain control. The detainees eventually returned to their cells. “The prisoners behaved extremely aggressively,” Didier Page, deputy director of justice in Fribourg, told RTS. “There has never been an incident of this scale in the history of the detention centre.”
Tensions at Bellechasse are however not new. In 2023, inmates went on strike and submitted a petition denouncing prison conditions. In November 2025, they sent a letter outlining similar grievances to the justice department, which is currently being addressed, Page said.
Children of cross-border commuters are set to lose access to public schools in Geneva, after a court has rejected complaints by pupils from France.
Live in France and go to school in Geneva? Geneva cantonal authorities no longer want this to be possible. In June last year, the canton decided that only pupils residing in Switzerland would be admitted to public schools. The decision particularly affects Swiss Abroad: Around 2,500 children and young people living in France currently attend school in Geneva, 85% of them Swiss nationals, writes Watson.
Twelve formal complaints were filed from France, but the Geneva administrative court has now dismissed them, according to reports by 20 Minuten and others. Compulsory schooling is tied to the place of residence, the court ruled, and no entitlement to public education can be derived from the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU.
A transitional arrangement is in place. From summer 2026, pupils living outside canton Geneva will no longer be admitted, but those already enrolled will be allowed to complete their current level of schooling.
Loopholes for the super-rich: A newly published book examines how Switzerland has adapted its laws to suit the powerful – and set a precedent in the process.
“Switzerland has shown the world what a small country can do to make ends meet,” Atossa Abrahamian told the Tages-Anzeiger. The US-based journalist, who also holds Swiss citizenship, analyses how countries have adapted their laws to the needs of companies and the super-rich.
Switzerland has been a pioneer in this field – less out of malice than as part of a survival strategy for small countries competing with global powers, she says. Abrahamian points to legal structures that protect existing wealth, such as Geneva’s duty-free warehouses, where goods and high-value artworks can be stored without customs duties.
However, she warns that the proximity between business and politics strains democratic principles. For example, when a Swiss business delegation travelled to Washington with gifts during the customs dispute with the US, which then led to accusations of corruption. In a small country like Switzerland, it is very easy for business circles to gain access to power, she says.
Abrahamian also notes that Switzerland is no longer among the worst offenders when it comes to tax havens and money laundering. In recent years, she argues, the US and Dubai have caught up.
Translated using AI/amva
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