Federal Councilor Berset triggers air police in France

Something about the flight of the small Swiss plane must have greatly irritated the French air traffic controllers. Otherwise they would not have informed their colleagues in the Luftwaffe. This sent two fighter jets in the air police service to take a closer look at the private pilot from Switzerland.

According to research by the NZZ, this incident happened on Tuesday, July 5th. Federal Councilor Alain Berset sat at the controls of the aircraft. The fact that he has a license as a private pilot was not actively communicated publicly.

After a stopover, Berset was reportedly received by the French gendarmerie. This is apparently standard after a Police du Ciel operation. Proceedings against the pilot cannot be ruled out. France handles airspace violations relatively strictly.

Two versions of the same story

Christian Favre, the deputy head of information at Berset’s interior department (EDI), has basically confirmed the incident to the NZZ. But it is a private matter, “une affaire privée”, so not a big deal. Federal Councilor Berset completed a training flight in his free time.

There was a “misunderstanding” in radio traffic, as Favre put it. The problem could have been clarified with the French authorities. There is no procedure, said Favre. The EDI spokesman also contradicted information that private pilot Berset is said to have triggered two interventions by the Police du Ciel.

Meanwhile, the EDI has one communique activated: «Federal Councilor Alain Berset undertook a private flight between two French sports airfields on July 5, 2022. He was alone on board. On this flight, his misinterpretation of air traffic control information at the beginning of the flight led to an intervention by the air police.” After an identity check on the ground and an exchange of facts, Berset was able to resume his flight.

The version of the story that was told to the NZZ is as follows: Berset took off from Fribourg-Ecuvillens airfield and flew directly to France from there. After initial contact with the French air force, he reacted in an unusual way and was forced to land after a second deployment by the air police.

The gendarmerie reported the incident to Paris. Because Federal Councilor Berset is a member of the Swiss state government, French President Emmanuel Macron was also informed. The French embassy in Bern has not yet answered a corresponding request from the NZZ.

The unusual flight of HB-TDR

It is well known in aviation circles that Berset pursues his hobby from the Ecuvillens airfield. A look at the Flightradar 24 internet service shows that on Tuesday at 2:35 p.m. a Cessna 182 with registration HB-TDR has taken off towards France. The small plane was then on the road for three days before returning to Fribourg-Ecuvillens.

The flight pattern matches the information the NZZ has about Berset’s trip, and it would also match Berset’s public appearances. Most recently, on Thursday around 9 p.m., he reported euphorically on Twitter from the Montreux Jazz Festival. The penultimate entry in the digital logbook of the EDI boss comes from Monday, July 4th, about the visit of the Italian Minister of Health to Graubünden. Aviation friend Berset took his colleague from Rome to the Rega base in Samedan.

Then there was radio silence on Berset’s channels. Summer break in Bern. A flight safari with HB-TDR to France would have been in time for Berset. According to Flightradar 24, the Cessna 182 with the suspicious flight pattern landed in Dôle in Burgundy on Tuesday after a flight time of 43 minutes.

An hour later, the data becomes confusing, but has an anomaly. The Cessna 182 HB-TDR flies through around ten kilometers south of the Avord Air Force Base. Among other things, the elements of the French Awacs system are stationed there. The flying command center is currently under heavy strain due to the war in Ukraine.

On the flight charts of the Service de l’information aéronautique (SIA) a control zone (CTR) is shown around the base of Avord, which may only be flown through with the permission of an air traffic controller. The HB-TDR could therefore have landed on the radar of the French Air Force. The recordings show that the Cessna from Switzerland finally flies a 360-degree maneuver southwest of the Luftwaffe base. Then the trail is lost.

No private matter

This is not uncommon as flight data is not consistently recorded. However, the maneuver of HB-TDR in the immediate vicinity of a facility of high military importance remains remarkable. In any case, it fits with what is said about Berset’s trip. EDI spokesman Favre only reacted indirectly to the flight patterns presented to him. It is interesting to superimpose the flight and zone scheme. Private pilot Berset can – theoretically – have flown a completely different route.

Whatever happened in France: An air police operation with fighter jets represents a high level of escalation. In the event of an airspace violation, there is first a warning by radio, then perhaps a request to report to the responsible authority after landing. Most of the time it is a matter of mistakes that do not have major consequences – in a normal situation.

But all French armed forces are currently in real action and protecting NATO’s eastern flank against Russian attacks. The Air Force is particularly challenged. The planes not only operate over Romania or the Mediterranean, but return to their home bases for squadron rotations. The sensitivity in the vicinity of military installations is correspondingly high.

All those involved should actually be interested in transparent clarification of the incident for reasons of security policy. A member of the Swiss state government triggered an air force operation in a neighboring country. Alain Berset’s flight to France, this alleged “affaire privée”, has what it takes to become an “affaire publique”.