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The Swiss army announced that the country’s airspace will be protected 24 hours a day, after 7 years have passed since it was not possible to launch fighter jets as part of dealing with the hijacking of a plane that took place after hours.
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Starting Thursday, December 31, the Swiss army will put the two F-18 fighters into service 24 hours a day, to protect the airspace of the small country that has no seaports, according to an army statement.
“From now on, the Air Police will listen 24 hours a day to guarantee the security and sovereignty of Swiss airspace,” the statement said.
A proposal was put forward in 2009 to increase surveillance of Swiss airspace, which gained momentum after a process recorded five years later, which highlighted the lack of 24-hour security protection.
In February 2014, an assistant pilot hijacked an Ethiopian Airlines plane, the plane assisted by its captain, carrying 202 passengers and crew, bound from Addis Ababa to Rome, and forced it to land in Geneva.
The co-pilot, Heilmedien Abera Tagegen, closed the cockpit after the pilot went to the bathroom. Italy and France launched their fighters to keep up with the planes in their airspace.
However, although the co-pilot was quick to announce his intention to land the plane in Switzerland, where he later revealed that he intended to apply for asylum, Switzerland did not launch its fleet of F-18 and F-5 Tiger fighters to keep up. With the plane.
The Swiss Air Force stated at the time that the fighter jets were not launched because they were only available during working hours.
After the shameful incident, the Swiss parliament prepared a project to strengthen the protection of Swiss airspace, with the aim of ensuring that two fighters are available 24 hours a day, capable of moving within 15 minutes of notification.
The statement said the project “was successfully completed on schedule.”
To complete the project, around 100 jobs were created in the Air Force, logistics sector, and command centers.
According to the statement, the annual cost of the new system is estimated at 30 million Swiss francs (34 million dollars, 28 million euros).
Source: AFP
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