… and didn’t I understand that Airolo came close to beyond closed again, either for not enough money or for too much nimby-ism?
Just back from there. CH has now become so damn expensive I’d recommend not visiting until the currency swings. It currently makes London feel cheap. I have no comprehension how a country can live in such a high priced bubble…wonderful country that it is…
Jan,
you mean Ambri? Not that I heard of anything like that. They do quite well, extraordinary place that it is :)
Silvaire,
quite a few of these fields are used by private groups indeed, most are open to the public in one way or the other. This is actually quite encouraging in Switzerland. We do hope that the main Dübendorf airbase will become available as an alternate to Zürich soon, but there is a ferocious fight going on about it.
However, here’s a (possibly incomplete) list of the currently available ex military airfields in Switzerland:
- Ambri (LSPM) was an airbase and is now used privately, PPR but quite accessible, yet pretty demanding to fly to. Just imagine what it must have been to fly there in Vampires and Hunters. Airport Website
- Buochs (LSZC) is still a “sleeping base” but today primarily used by Pilatus Aircraft and open as a PPR airfield. Link
- Kägiswil (LSPG) is also open by PPR and a quite active airfield in the region of Obwalden. It just got saved from closure recently. Link
- Lodrino is still military but has a civil maintenance company (RUAG). Sometimes there are fly ins where civil airplanes are allowed in. Link
- Mollis (LSMF) is a former Hunter airbase, now privately operated under PPR (24 hrs) Link
- Münster (LSPU) is a scenic place in the Oberwallis, PPR and open in summer only. In the picture, Münster is the one in the background with Turtmann (closed) in the foreground.
- Raron (LSTA) remains an active airport with PPR for visitors, Fluggruppe Oberwallis and retains an 840 × 40 m part of the original runway.
- Reichenbach (LSGR) is a former airbase wich is available PPR, however only for very quiet airplanes of Swiss noise class D. Website
(The airport in the background of the picture is Frutigen (Closed, see below))
- Saanen (LSGK) has been open for a long time. PPR and quite demanding to fly into, but friendly and used often by biz jets going into Gstaad. They can even offer Non-Schengen immigration at 48 hours notice. Link
- Zweisimmen (LSTZ) is a former airbase PPR but quite accessible. Very interesting approach. Link
-Nearby is St. Stephan (LSTS), which is closed to non based airplanes but houses the Hunter Association Obersimmental, a working flying group which owns and operates several Hawker Hunter airplanes.
Several others are closed for good.
Frutigen, older picture, the runway is being removed in the mean time.
Turtmann
Ulrichen (foreground) and Münster (see above)
DME Arc,
where did you visit?
Sion/Valais Alps – spent week hiking beautiful, beautiful place…
@Mooney Driver: thank you very much, wonderful pictures. Only such a shame my microlight isn’t allowed in the Swiss skies.
And yes, it was Ambri I meant, sorry.
Yes, thanks Mooney Driver. Those are really great photos and they surely illustrate what I was talking about!
If you were ‘out and about’ and crossed Klausen Pass, Gotthard to Andermatt, then Furka Pass and along the valley in the direction of Brig, I think you’d pass three of those runways pictured. You might also see a turboprop doing aerobatics over the Vierwaldstattersee (Lake Lucerne), presumably military but a pretty good show regardless 
Lodrino was one of those that caught my eye too, heading south from that area towards Bellinzona.
Thanks again.
Slivaire,
that turboprop (one of many) is likely a Pilatus testflight. They are made in Buochs and subsequently test flown in these areas.
I did a flight last year from Zürich to the Matterhorn and back via the lake of Constance in about 3 hours in the Mooney. Saw several of those airports on the way.
What really impressed me with all these airports is that these airports were used by high performance jets, Hawker Hunters, F5´s and others. Landing there in such airplanes is a real challenge!
Those pics btw are not mine but simply linked from several sites on the net.
Ambri:
Samedan:
that turboprop (one of many) is likely a Pilatus testflight. They are made in Buochs and subsequently test flown in these areas.
Having now seen on the map that Buochs is adjacent to where I was watching, that makes sense He was using a lot of altitude to do the aerobatics over Lake Lucerne, the plane could fly straight up for some time. Fun to watch.
I’ve looked over at the Pilatus factory on a different trip but it’s hard to piece them all together into a consistent whole. So many lakes, so many valleys… It’d sure be fun to fly to some of those airports.
