Bern: New government jet for Switzerland?

Bern-Belp Airport (Photo: Claudio Joss).
Bern-Belp Airport (Photo: Claudio Joss).

Bern: New government jet for Switzerland?

Bern-Belp Airport (Photo: Claudio Joss).
Advertising

The Swiss Federal Council is currently plagued by a series of breakdowns in the government aircraft. This came into focus in the Swiss Confederation, because even a meeting with the Japanese emperor was canceled due to engine problems.

Now parliament is calling for a second jet to be purchased for the Federal Council. The series of breakdowns downright embarrassed Switzerland because it was not possible to travel to official appointments or government members were downright stranded.

The Swiss government currently has a Falcon 900. This was bought second-hand in 2012 by the Principality of Monaco. It is now being discussed whether a second jet with a longer range will be purchased. In principle, a second aircraft would already be available, namely a Pilatus PC-24. However, the range for long-distance destinations is not sufficient, which is why this business jet is primarily used within Europe.

The Federal Council does not want to comment on the current discussion. Other countries, such as Austria, do not have a government fleet. The Federal Chancellor and Ministers - at least officially - primarily use scheduled flights. In practice, however, business jets are mostly chartered by private operators.

Comment

  • Fritz Stauber, 8. March 2022 @ 00: 24

    In my opinion, having your own business jet of the size in question only makes sense if it is flown at least 600 hours a year. Is that the case in Switzerland? A Swiss airline with 35 years of successful business activity is based in Zurich-Kloten: Cat Aviation AG. http://www.cat-aviation.com. This has several of its own business jets, mostly Dassault Falcon 7X Jet. The Swiss government could bring their current Falcon 900 and a new Falcon 7X or 8X into Cat Aviation and have them operated by them. Whenever the state government has a need for air travel, it calls up one or more aircraft from there. All in all it would be cheaper. Disadvantage: The jet(s) would have to be flown over from Zurich to Bern-Belp or those entitled to travel would have to travel by train from Bern to Zurich-Kloten.

Leave a Comment

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked

This website uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn more about how your comment data is processed.

Editor of this article:

Amely Mizzi is Executive Assistant at Aviation Direct Malta in San Pawl il-Baħar. She previously worked in the Aircraft and Vessel Financing division at a banking group. She is considered a linguistic talent and speaks seven languages ​​fluently. She prefers to spend her free time in Austria on the ski slopes and in summer on Mediterranean beaches, practically on her doorstep in Gozo.
[ssba buttons]

Nobody likes paywalls
- not even Aviation.Direct!

Information should be free for everyone, but good journalism costs a lot of money.

If you enjoyed this article, you can check Aviation.Direct voluntary for a cup of coffee Coffee trail (for them it's free to use).

In doing so, you support the journalistic work of our independent specialist portal for aviation, travel and tourism with a focus on the DA-CH region voluntarily without a paywall requirement.

If you did not like the article, we look forward to your constructive criticism and / or your suggestions for improvement, either directly to the editor or to the team at with this link or alternatively via the comments.

Your
Aviation.Direct team
paywalls
nobody likes!

About the editor

Amely Mizzi is Executive Assistant at Aviation Direct Malta in San Pawl il-Baħar. She previously worked in the Aircraft and Vessel Financing division at a banking group. She is considered a linguistic talent and speaks seven languages ​​fluently. She prefers to spend her free time in Austria on the ski slopes and in summer on Mediterranean beaches, practically on her doorstep in Gozo.
[ssba buttons]

Nobody likes paywalls
- not even Aviation.Direct!

Information should be free for everyone, but good journalism costs a lot of money.

If you enjoyed this article, you can check Aviation.Direct voluntary for a cup of coffee Coffee trail (for them it's free to use).

In doing so, you support the journalistic work of our independent specialist portal for aviation, travel and tourism with a focus on the DA-CH region voluntarily without a paywall requirement.

If you did not like the article, we look forward to your constructive criticism and / or your suggestions for improvement, either directly to the editor or to the team at with this link or alternatively via the comments.

Your
Aviation.Direct team
paywalls
nobody likes!

Comment

  • Fritz Stauber, 8. March 2022 @ 00: 24

    In my opinion, having your own business jet of the size in question only makes sense if it is flown at least 600 hours a year. Is that the case in Switzerland? A Swiss airline with 35 years of successful business activity is based in Zurich-Kloten: Cat Aviation AG. http://www.cat-aviation.com. This has several of its own business jets, mostly Dassault Falcon 7X Jet. The Swiss government could bring their current Falcon 900 and a new Falcon 7X or 8X into Cat Aviation and have them operated by them. Whenever the state government has a need for air travel, it calls up one or more aircraft from there. All in all it would be cheaper. Disadvantage: The jet(s) would have to be flown over from Zurich to Bern-Belp or those entitled to travel would have to travel by train from Bern to Zurich-Kloten.

Leave a Comment

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked

This website uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn more about how your comment data is processed.

Advertising