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Geneva airport strike to impact 8,000 passengers on Friday

Thousands of passengers flying out of Geneva airport face travel disruption on Friday morning after the airport announced the threatened strike action by unions would go ahead.

Published: 29 June 2023 16:24 CEST
SWISS
SWISS cancels 20 flights to Italiy amid strike.(Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

*Click for the latest news on the impact of the strike at Geneva airport 

Flights at Geneva’s international airport will be grounded for four hours on Friday morning due to a strike by workers, an airport spokesman said.

“Based on this information, airlines will decide whether to maintain, cancel or delay their flights,” spokesman Ignace Jeannerat told AFP, noting that no flights will take place between 6am and 10am local time.

Some 8,000 passengers would be affected, the spokesman added.

Last week The Local reported that the public service union SSP said employees of Geneva international airport, Switzerland’s second-largest, would undertake industrial action that would disrupt air traffic, unless their demands were met.

At stake in the dispute is the new compensation policy promoted by the airport’s management.

According to the SSP union, the new policy seeks to eliminate employee bonuses, and allows the demotion of  workers based on their behaviour.

It added that it already informed major airlines of the plan, so they can “divert their aircraft to other destinations.”

A strike would completely paralyse the airport, through which tens of thousands of passengers travel each day, as services such as baggage handling and security checks would have to be ceased.

As a result, planes will have to be grounded.

“We must ensure that our movement has the greatest possible impact,” the SSP’s spokesperson, Jamshid Pouranpir said last week.

The aviation industry has been keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos seen at European airports last year.

The sector struggled to cope with a surge in travel as it was severely understaffed after laying off thousands during the Covid pandemic.

Passengers faced huge lines, misplaced luggage and flight delays.

Other European airports and airlines have also faced worker strikes.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why is Switzerland going to collect a database of flight passengers?

Twenty years after the US began sharing a database of those flying in and out of the country in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Switzerland is set to follow suit - but not without some outside pressure. 

Published: 16 May 2024 15:51 CEST
Why is Switzerland going to collect a database of flight passengers?

Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems are databases that operate by flagging and tracking individuals who may pose a security risk. 

The data includes the name, destination, means of payment, and type of baggage for each passenger arriving or leaving a country via its airports. 

Until now, Switzerland has not participated in a PNR system in a way that allows data to be freely accessible to partners such as the EU and the US. 

Indeed, for years, it has been possible to circumvent the EU’s PNR systems by flying into Switzerland and crossing a land border with the EU. 

Now, however, Switzerland is being forced to comply. 

The United States has threatened Switzerland’s place in their Visa Waiver Program unless they share data. 

Similarly, the EU has applied significant diplomatic pressure to join their efforts – and considerable progress has already occurred, with agreements signed. 

Other countries have also signalled that Swiss carriers may withdraw their landing rights or impose heavy fines if Switzerland does not begin participating in a compliant PNR system. 

Changes in effect 2026

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Beat Jans announced at a press conference that a PNR program that worked in collaboration with other countries would come into effect in 2026. 

The reason given for the length of time it would take to go into effect was that a legal basis for the move does not yet exist in Swiss law—a dispatch on proposed legislation has only just been sent to the Federal Council.

Once passed by the Federal Council and then by the Council of States, the federal police will be responsible for tracking passengers via a new group – the Passenger Information Unit (PIU). 

The PIU will examine passenger manifests a day before and immediately before flights taking off or landing and compare them to shared lists of individuals involved in terrorism, organised crime, or who have committed violent crimes. 

If there is a match, information will be forwarded to authorities at the relevant airport.  

Privacy concerns 

Understandably, for the privacy-conscious Swiss, concerns have been raised. 

Both the right-wing SVP, the Greens and the SPD have voiced doubts about the security and privacy of passenger data. 

In response, the government has announced that all passenger data except for that relates to those linked to terrorist groups will be deleted after six months. 

To further ease concerns, Switzerland’s PNR system will be constantly monitored by the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act.

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