The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to save money and is therefore focusing on the flights of its employees. In the future they will have to fly economy instead of business class. This affects ambassadors and state secretaries, a spokesperson said on Friday.
For very long flights to conferences, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends arriving one day before departure so that you can recover from any exertions of the journey. Exceptions are only allowed in rare cases and upon request. The ministry expects to save approximately 1.5 million francs per year (which amounts to 1.6 million euros) by switching to economy flights.
Currently, federal employees are entitled to business class on flights longer than nine hours or on connecting flights totaling more than eleven hours. This will also apply to other ministries in the future. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had proposed a transition to the economy for all workers, but was unable to follow through.
Minister of Foreign Affairs is working on the plane
He himself only sets a good example to a limited extent. Cassis forgoes first class on scheduled flights and flies business. He has to work on the aircraft and is usually ready for action immediately after arrival, the ministry spokesperson said. That’s why economy class is out of the question for him. When traveling to multiple destinations or to destinations that cannot be reached directly, Cassis and other ministers usually use their own plane.
Source: Krone
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