US military helicopters over Switzerland – Chinooks fly to Geneva for the G7 summit

“What are these US military helicopters doing with us?”: This was the question asked by various readers on Wednesday evening. Four US Army Chinook helicopters thundered over eastern Switzerland at this point. “Loud and low-flying,” reports a news scout.

One of the four helicopters could also be found on the flight tracking platform flightradar24. It says that the transport helicopter took off from Friedrichshafen on Wednesday at around 3:30 p.m. – destination: unknown.

US helicopters on their way to Geneva

Thanks to the tracking data, it is now clear where the US Chinooks are flying: The four helicopters are heading for Geneva airport, as army spokesman Stefan Hofer confirmed to 20 Minutes. He goes on to say that the US military had obtained the necessary permits for the overflights in advance.

It is not yet clear whether the Chinooks will stay in Geneva or just make a refueling stop there like before in Friedrichshafen. The reason for the relocation of the US helicopters is probably that upcoming G7 summit in Evian be.

Does France pay?

The world economic meeting takes place on French and not Swiss soil, but apart from the Chinook overflights, it affects the country in various areas. For example, there are disagreements as to who will bear the additional costs for security precautions resulting from the summit in Switzerland.

The G7 summit in Evian in 2003 cost Geneva around 35 million francs. At that time, France covered around two thirds of the costs. It is not entirely clear whether it will happen again this year. There were several threats from France in advance that it would not cover any costs, such as “Tages-Anzeiger” reported.

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Benedikt Hollenstein (bho) has been at 20 minutes since 2021. He writes for the news desk and also takes on day management shifts there.