Swiss Sues Germany over Zurich Flight Limits

Switzerland's national airline, Swiss, and Zurich's Kloten Airport filed suit against Germany in a Baden-Wurttemberg court on Monday in a dispute over an air-traffic treaty that would limit flights over southern German airspace.

Swiss, the successor firm to defunct Swiss Air which sank bankrupt last year, is seeking to suspend implementation of the new treaty, which it says will unfairly limit flights into Zurich's major international hub, which lies several kilometers from the German border, and reduce the airline's overall capacity by 25 to 30 percent. The treaty also calls for the number of flights into Kloten over Southern German airspace to be reduced from the current 150,000 to 100,000 a year by 2005.

German Transportation Minister Kurt Bodewig and his Swiss colleague, Moritz Leuenberger, signed the treaty after difficult negotiations last October, but neither country has ratified it yet. However, a provision in the deal allows the regulations to go into effect Oct. 27 if a court doesn't intervene.

New rules

The new rules preclude aircraft from flying in over Southern German airspace from landing at the Zurich airport between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. The restrictions also apply on public holidays. Under current rules planes may not land between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Swiss, together with the Zurich airport's private operator, Unique, say the new so-called "weekend regulations" will both dramatically affect both business and smooth operations at the airport.

A Swiss spokesman estimated the company would lose 50 million Swiss Francs (34 million euro) if the first step of the treaty is put into force.

Unique alleged that the new rules violate German, European and international law.

Treaty in limbo

Meanwhile, residents in the rural German state of Baden Wurttemberg are demanding a reduction in the number of planes hovering over their homes and gardens, saying the holding patterns for traffic flying into the airport mean that levels of noise and environmental pollution have become a problem.

Under the current regime, they say, Zurich decides which part of the sky planes can hover over, and that seldom includes Zurich’s posh suburbs.

But Swiss politicians are also critical of the treaty, saying it discriminates against the country because it doesn't impose similar restrictions on German airports.

Air Traffic Control: One sky?

Germany ceded control of Southern German airspace to Switzerland over 40 years ago. In short, if you’re flying from Munich to Stuttgart, your pilot won’t be talking to another German – he or she will be under the command of Zurich-based air traffic controllers.

The much-talked about European "Single Sky" program, which will be centrally planned and directed by international radar centers, which is still being negotiated, is due to be phased in from 2004.

Until then, disputes like the current one between Switzerland and Germany are likely to continue.