Petition "Preservation of Kägiswil airfield" presented to the Federal Council
10,820 signatures were collected - now the petition for the preservation of Kägiswil airfield has been handed over to the Federal Chancellery in Bern.
The online petition with 10,820 signatures calls on the Federal Council to create the framework conditions for the permanent preservation of Kägiswil airfield. Remarkable: 2000 signatures come from Obwalden, 650 of them from the local community itself. This underlines the local roots of the Kägiswil airfield.
This forms an important regional training platform for powered and glider flights in Central Switzerland. The Federal Council's current aviation policy report from 2016 (LUPO) clearly states that the airfields are particularly important for training and further education. The substance of Switzerland's airfield landscape should be preserved. Kägiswil airfield is also listed in the existing Federal Aviation Infrastructure Sectoral Plan (SIL), and the object sheet was adopted by the Federal Council in 2020.
The petition was presented to the Federal Chancellery on May 5 by AeCS Central President and National Councillor Matthias Samuel Jauslin, VSF President Peter Tschümperlin and FGOW President Thomas Geissdörfer.
Also on the Euroairport Basel light aviation is under pressure. Find here sie further information and a corresponding petition.
Dear "openPetition" team,
dear Matthias, dear Peter, dear Thomas, dear friends
That is really, really extremely gratifying that it worked out! Let's now hope for a positive response and ultimately for success!
With a flying greeting
Jean Voegelin
Chairman Motorfluggruppe Birrfeld MFGB
President Antonov Club Avianna ANC
Kägiswil is the only civilian airfield in Obwalden. This should not be sacrificed to Rega's constraints.
There would certainly be alternatives to a 15th Rega base: if it were to be in the canton of Obwalden, then the Alpnach helicopter base would make more sense. Or in Buochs, with better coverage in the direction of Lucerne, Zug and Aargau. These two alternatives are more optimally located for maintenance work on the helicopters.
Great care must be taken to preserve the current small airfields, their infrastructure and the businesses located there. Every future pilot, whether fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter or drone, is inspired and recruited in this environment. The events offered at these airfields, which are close to the population, are often the decisive factor in young, talented people choosing a career.
Rega can be based on larger or unused sites such as Dübendorf, Emmen, Meiringen, Interlaken, Raron or Turtmann. Why all this fuss about converting a site? Or the joint use of the Alpnach military helicopter base? All just a few minutes' flight from Kägiswil.
On the other hand, the conversion of the airfield into a fixed-wing airfield, as planned by FGOW, appears uncertain at the present time. According to the Federal Administrative Court, the consent of the landowners in the airfield perimeter is an essential prerequisite for this. FGOW has not yet been able to obtain this. The Federal Supreme Court's ruling on this issue is still pending.
Yes, I think the idea of Rega at Alpnach airfield is a good one - there's enough space there. Has this possibility already been considered?
We absolutely must take care of the "small" airfields that still exist.
There are hardly any new replacements in sight.