Geneva airport 19 April, an emptiness that will soon be a thing of the past (photo, © 2010 Peter Brodbeck)
Britain warns new ash cloud heading towards Europe
Update 09:35 Geneva / Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - You can all go home (or to work) now: Swiss air space opens again at 08:00 Tuesday morning, as does most of Europe’s air space. Swiss civil aviation officials agreed to lift the ban after test flights carried out by the airline Swiss and the Swiss air force, as well as measurements of the ash cloud showed it is now safe to fly. The cloud remains over Switzerland but its density has been considerably reduced.
Geneva and Zurich airports are gradually reopening, but as of 08:00 Tuesday only flights to New York and Vienna were scheduled to leave from Geneva. The airports are asking passengers to check their departures and arrivals boards online and to check with their airlines directly about flights. Ed. note: their web sites were already difficult to access early Tuesday and web traffic is likely to climb during the day, so plan to be patient.
The Swiss Federal Transport Office will continue to carry out tests and airlines are obliged to send reports on all flights to allow the office to compile a good data base for safety reasons.
The UK is warning travelers that a new ash cloud is en route to Europe.
Photo album: Peter Brodbeck’s photos of Geneva airport 19 April
CFF points to major challenges in near future
Growing customer demand adds pressure to replace older trains in Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The present looks rosy, but the future less so, Switzerland’s CFF rail company indicated Friday oring 16 April in its annual report. Traffic rose in 2009, more passengers arrived on time, and profits were up, but the company says heavy investments are necessary to guarantee the current level of service.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Travelers’ woes in Geneva continued Sunday 10 January, when Cointrin Airport closed for six hours, the longest closure in 25 years, thanks to snow. The airport is now open again, after 10cm of snow was removed.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - “In 2009 we’ve not seen big tax increases coming through,” says Jeff Poole, director of airport and industry charges and taxation at IATA (International Air Transport Association) in Geneva. Poole says the big worry now is the Copenhagen climate change conference, with the likelihood that with attention focused on the environment, governments might see an opportunity to raise taxes.
Airports in particular have been good at holding down costs in 2009, a year when the airline industry organization has had on a cost-cutting campaign, with Iata asking airlines, airports and governments to keep charges at current levels or cut them. The industry had its highest-ever “proportion of real cost reductions, 86 percent, $3.02 billion” according to Poole.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland has adapted its laws for travelers crossing the Swiss border to reflect new needs with the A(H1N1) swine flu spreading. The new rules go into effect 1 July.
