Bern will never get back all the money paid on repatriation flights

Monday, 1 November 2021 04:00

The government will not get back all the money it paid out on repatriation flights in March last year.

As the world moved to Covid lockdowns, Bern chartered aircraft to bring back Swiss nationals from all over the world.

The operation cost CHF 7.5m.

Those on the flights are supposed to pay back 80%.

The Foreign Ministry sent out 1,700 invoices. CHF 600,000 is still missing and it’s certain CHF 200,000 will never be repaid.

Some claim they are too much in debt to pay and others put false addresses on the forms.

In eight cases, the sum will never be paid as the claimants have since died.

More from Bitesize News

Geneva could foot the G7 bill

Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.
US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.
French singer banned by Paleo

The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
Cars going uninspected

The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.
War may lead to rent rises

Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.
Not a heatwave, yet

Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.