The government said it had reviewed several U.S. requests to fly through Swiss airspace. Two requests for reconnaissance aircraft on March 15 were rejected, while one flight after maintenance and two flights of transport aircraft on the same day were allowed.
“Since February 28, heavy fighting has continued in the Middle East. The war continues between the United States and Israel, as well as Iran. The neutrality law applies to these states,” the message says.
The Federal Council stressed that flights that could have a military purpose in the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran are prohibited. At the same time, flights not related to war are allowed, as well as humanitarian and medical transits, in particular the transportation of the wounded.
The department also noted that the United States retained annual authorization for clearly defined government aircraft. Aircraft not on this list will require a separate permit from the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA).
“Future requests that are clearly not related to the conflict must be approved. However, requests for such flights may be rejected if they are outside the scope of normal operations and the purpose of these flights cannot be determined. Requests for flights for humanitarian and medical purposes, including the transport of the wounded, must be approved,” the Swiss government informed.
