The House of Representatives has approved an accord with Germany on flight noise around Zurich airport to give residents of southern Germany nearly 17 more hours of quiet per week – at the expense of people living in Switzerland.
Despite concerns expressed at the local level, the deal passed with 110 votes in favour and 66 against. Critics complained that it was a bad deal that yielded too much to Germany.
The agreement, hammered out last summer by Transport Minister Doris Leuthard and her German counterpart, now awaits ratification by Germany’s parliament. It passed 40-2 in the Swiss Senate in March but, as in the House on Thursday, only after much gnashing of teeth.
Although there are not yet definite plans as to how the noise measures will be achieved, representatives from cantons Zurich, Thurgau and Aargau are already uneasy. The deal calls for flight modifications to take effect in 2020.
People’s Party member Alfred Heer, representing Zurich, called Leuthard «weak» and said it was a «scandal, the way Germany deals with Switzerland» – hinting that the wrangling with the United States over bank data was enough of a nuisance for Swiss parliamentarians.
After challenging Heer to run for her post if he could do it better, Leuthard pointed out that this sort of attitude had prevented previous efforts – dating back to 2001 – from taking off. She emphasised the fact that the deal would not limit the number of flights landing in Zurich via German air space, something that Germany had originally wanted.
Leuthard also noted that any modifications to the airport’s runways did not mean an increase in flights in and out of the airport. This had been a topic addressed by left-wing politicians concerned about the environmental aspect of airport business. The goal would be to maintain current traffic rather than reducing operations or fostering growth.
Transport commission spokesman Max Binder of the People’s Party in Zurich admitted that the accord was not ideal but encouraged the House to approve it to avoid a potentially worse deal via unilateral German regulation.