Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
German transport strikes to affect Switzerland; MPs against changing rules of cross-border shopping; and more news in our roundup on Thursday.
Transport strikes in Germany to impact Switzerland
Two industrial actions are planned for today and tomorrow in Germany — both rail and airline / airport workers will walk out simultaneously.
Both actions will disrupt traffic to and from Switzerland.
Air travel:
Security staff strike today at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports will affect the Hamburg-Zurich, Frankfurt-Zurich, and Frankfurt-Geneva flights today.
While the outbound SWISS flights to these two cities will depart according to schedule, "we have to operate empty return flights, without passengers,” according to the airline's spokesperson.
Additionally, Lufthansa ground staff will hold a nationwide strike from 4 pm today until 7:30 pm Saturday.
Trains:
Deutsche Bahn drivers will strike today until Friday 1 pm.
This means that many cross-border connections to and from Germany will be canceled.
On the Swiss side of the border, the connections are replaced by substitute trains, so that "domestic traffic is affected as little as possible,” a spokesperson for Swiss national railways SBB said.
And another strike is also looming
Nationwide 24-hour general strike will take place in Italy tomorrow.
Airline, rail and public transport passengers may all face delays and/or cancellations on Friday.
If you are planning a trip to Italy, you may want to cancel your trip, though travel by car should not be affected.
Swiss passport is the best in the world, study finds
Although a survey released earlier this year indicated that Switzerland’s passport ranks fifth in the world in terms of visa-free travel, another study placed it in the first.
This is what emerges from the annual Nomad Passport Index, released on Wednesday by the consulting firm Nomad Capitalist. In this survey, Switzerland took the top spot out of 199 countries surveyed.
Swiss passport was found to be the best in terms of not only visa-free travel, but also taxation of citizens, global perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedom.
MPs oppose lowering tax-free limit for cross-border shopping
In response to several parliamentary motions to this effect, Justice Ministry said several months ago that it would cut by half the tax-free threshold for goods brought into Switzerland from neighbour countries — from the the current 300 to 150 francs.
The goal of this move would be to make shopping abroad less attractive and spend money in Switzerland instead.
However, the National Council deputies stated on Wednesday that no measures are needed to curtail shopping tourism and are therefore against lowering the tax-free limit.
READ ALSO : Why cross-border shopping could become less lucrative for Swiss consumers
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Transport strikes in Germany to impact Switzerland
Two industrial actions are planned for today and tomorrow in Germany — both rail and airline / airport workers will walk out simultaneously.
Both actions will disrupt traffic to and from Switzerland.
Air travel:
Security staff strike today at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports will affect the Hamburg-Zurich, Frankfurt-Zurich, and Frankfurt-Geneva flights today.
While the outbound SWISS flights to these two cities will depart according to schedule, "we have to operate empty return flights, without passengers,” according to the airline's spokesperson.
Additionally, Lufthansa ground staff will hold a nationwide strike from 4 pm today until 7:30 pm Saturday.
Trains:
Deutsche Bahn drivers will strike today until Friday 1 pm.
This means that many cross-border connections to and from Germany will be canceled.
On the Swiss side of the border, the connections are replaced by substitute trains, so that "domestic traffic is affected as little as possible,” a spokesperson for Swiss national railways SBB said.
And another strike is also looming
Nationwide 24-hour general strike will take place in Italy tomorrow.
Airline, rail and public transport passengers may all face delays and/or cancellations on Friday.
If you are planning a trip to Italy, you may want to cancel your trip, though travel by car should not be affected.
Swiss passport is the best in the world, study finds
Although a survey released earlier this year indicated that Switzerland’s passport ranks fifth in the world in terms of visa-free travel, another study placed it in the first.
This is what emerges from the annual Nomad Passport Index, released on Wednesday by the consulting firm Nomad Capitalist. In this survey, Switzerland took the top spot out of 199 countries surveyed.
Swiss passport was found to be the best in terms of not only visa-free travel, but also taxation of citizens, global perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedom.
MPs oppose lowering tax-free limit for cross-border shopping
In response to several parliamentary motions to this effect, Justice Ministry said several months ago that it would cut by half the tax-free threshold for goods brought into Switzerland from neighbour countries — from the the current 300 to 150 francs.
The goal of this move would be to make shopping abroad less attractive and spend money in Switzerland instead.
However, the National Council deputies stated on Wednesday that no measures are needed to curtail shopping tourism and are therefore against lowering the tax-free limit.
READ ALSO : Why cross-border shopping could become less lucrative for Swiss consumers
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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