https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed So you've got your brand new drone and you're ready to take it out to take amazing footage of majestic alpine scenery? Not so fast. Flying a drone is a serious matter in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20240703/five-things-to-know-if-you-want-to-fly-a-drone-in-switzerland Wed, 03 Jul 2024 20:11:47 +0200 five-things-to-know-if-you-want-to-fly-a-drone-in-switzerland The new managers of the cult Äscher mountain restaurant in eastern Switzerland are calling for a ban on “annoying” drones. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190627/call-for-ban-on-annoying-drones-at-iconic-swiss-cliff-restaurant-aescher-switzerland Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:44:16 +0200 call-for-ban-on-annoying-drones-at-iconic-swiss-cliff-restaurant-aescher-switzerland Swiss aviation authorities are set to toughen up rules for private drone use by requiring pilots to register their devices as early as summer next year. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190318/switzerland-plans-to-launch-drone-register-in-2020 Mon, 18 Mar 2019 11:02:50 +0100 switzerland-plans-to-launch-drone-register-in-2020 Police divers have retrieved a drone that fell into Lake Zurich on Friday while carrying blood samples from a clinic to a laboratory as part of a test project. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190128/police-recover-swiss-post-drone-that-crashed-into-lake-zurich Mon, 28 Jan 2019 20:03:56 +0100 police-recover-swiss-post-drone-that-crashed-into-lake-zurich A drone almost crashed into a passenger plane near Zurich’s Kloten airport in late September in what safety authorities have called a "serious incident". https://www.thelocal.ch/20181115/drone-come-within-20-metres-of-colliding-with-plane-in-zurich Thu, 15 Nov 2018 11:28:34 +0100 drone-come-within-20-metres-of-colliding-with-plane-in-zurich A new brochure published on Wednesday aims to inform drone pilots about how they can avoid stressing out animals and birds. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180704/dont-stress-the-wildlife-swiss-drone-pilots-warned Wed, 04 Jul 2018 12:25:50 +0200 dont-stress-the-wildlife-swiss-drone-pilots-warned Police in the Swiss city of Geneva are training two eagles to take down drones but the success of the project is far from guaranteed. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180226/geneva-trains-eagles-in-war-on-drones-switzerland Mon, 26 Feb 2018 10:28:15 +0100 geneva-trains-eagles-in-war-on-drones-switzerland Members of the public can watch drone racing, learn how to fly a drone and get an insight into the latest drone research in a new event at EPFL, the federal technology institute in Lausanne, this weekend. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170829/epfl-stages-first-ever-showcase-of-drone-technology Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:19:52 +0200 epfl-stages-first-ever-showcase-of-drone-technology The Swiss postal service is to pilot a drone delivery service to shuttle laboratory samples between two hospitals in the canton of Ticino. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170314/swiss-post-trials-drone-deliveries-between-hospitals Tue, 14 Mar 2017 12:48:22 +0100 swiss-post-trials-drone-deliveries-between-hospitals Researchers at Swiss federal technology institute EPFL have mimicked birds to create a drone with 'feathered' wings, making it more agile than ordinary drones. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161216/swiss-scientists-create-winged-drone-that-flies-like-a-bird Fri, 16 Dec 2016 10:02:42 +0100 swiss-scientists-create-winged-drone-that-flies-like-a-bird The Swiss Federal Aviation Office (BAZL) has created a new interactive map to show drone operators where they may legally fly. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161213/new-swiss-map-shows-no-fly-zones-for-drones Tue, 13 Dec 2016 12:13:27 +0100 new-swiss-map-shows-no-fly-zones-for-drones Swiss rescue dogs are to get a helping hand from the air as the Swiss Society for Rescue Dogs (Redog) announced on Thursday it would now be using drones during searches for missing people. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161125/drones-to-help-swiss-rescue-dogs-find-the-missing Fri, 25 Nov 2016 10:59:23 +0100 drones-to-help-swiss-rescue-dogs-find-the-missing The Lenzburg prison in the canton of Aargau is to spend 200,000 francs installing an anti-drone alarm system on its roof in order to prevent drones being used to deliver goods to prisoners. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161117/swiss-prison-installs-anti-drone-system Thu, 17 Nov 2016 12:37:03 +0100 swiss-prison-installs-anti-drone-system Several prisons in Switzerland are looking into ways to defend themselves against drones over fears they could be used to deliver weapons to prisoners. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160830/swiss-prisons-fear-drone-deliveries-to-inmates Tue, 30 Aug 2016 14:42:33 +0200 swiss-prisons-fear-drone-deliveries-to-inmates A company in Sierre, in the canton of Valais, wants to be the first in Europe to offer drone-based crop-spraying services to farmers. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160804/swiss-start-up-to-offer-drone-services-to-farmers Thu, 04 Aug 2016 13:06:34 +0200 swiss-start-up-to-offer-drone-services-to-farmers Clients of a Bern waterpark who use a nudist sauna area were horrified to spot a drone hovering over them in the last few days. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160629/drone-shocks-nudists-at-swiss-waterpark Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:12:09 +0200 drone-shocks-nudists-at-swiss-waterpark The University of Neuchâtel will launch a new project in February to examine the impact of drone usage on civilian life in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151016/new-study-to-assess-drone-use-in-swiss-life Fri, 16 Oct 2015 14:08:29 +0200 new-study-to-assess-drone-use-in-swiss-life Switzerland's parliament on Monday voted in favour of a controversial plan to buy six Israeli surveillance drones worth 250 million Swiss francs ($256 million, €230 million). https://www.thelocal.ch/20150908/switzerland-approves-plan-to-purchase-israeli-drones Tue, 08 Sep 2015 10:57:33 +0200 switzerland-approves-plan-to-purchase-israeli-drones Switzerland's postal service is to start testing deliveries by drone, a spokesman for Swiss Post said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150419/swisspost-launches-tests-for-drone-deliveries Sun, 19 Apr 2015 20:42:02 +0200 swisspost-launches-tests-for-drone-deliveries The federal civil aviation office (BAZL) in Bern wants to introduce stricter laws to regulate the use of drones, which are becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland, a media report says. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150409/drone-pilot-training-proposed-by-bern-officials Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:59:42 +0200 drone-pilot-training-proposed-by-bern-officials