Kägiswil suspends sport flying as Rega plans new base

Sport flying at Kägiswil airfield in Obwalden has been halted after the agreement allowing civilian operations expired, SRF reported. A temporary extension could still be negotiated, but flying is currently barred on safety grounds.

The 780-metre runway in the municipality of Sarnen has been used regularly by sport aircraft for 60 years. The airfield, run by the Obwalden Airfield Cooperative, served civilian flights and pilot training. About 200 people used it, including hobby pilots and around 35 flight instructors.

Armasuisse, which made the airfield available to the cooperative under a building-rights agreement, allowed the contract to expire at the end of September. The cooperative’s 2021 application for permanent civilian use failed because landowners around the airfield did not give their consent. A pending appeal at the Federal Administrative Court does not change that outcome, though talks on a time-limited continuation remain possible. For now, only flights to relocate aircraft to another site are permitted.

The Federal Office of Civil Aviation says all air traffic will be stopped from October 9 until at least November 20 while poles are erected to mark the planned buildings. The Swiss air-rescue service Rega wants to move its headquarters to Kägiswil, as it must leave its base at Zurich Airport by the end of 2030. Its plans include a hangar with five helicopter parking spaces and a multi-storey administration building.

Obwalden Airfield Cooperative vice-president Bernhard Müller said the group had expected a new agreement to take effect at the start of October, based on earlier talks. Cantonal government member Marius Küchler said the canton’s options were limited after landowners opposed the cooperative’s use of the airfield. He described Rega’s proposed headquarters as a potential advantage for the canton, citing 200 highly qualified jobs and 100 million Swiss francs in investment.

Kägiswil was built as a military airfield during the Second World War and later used for civilian flying. In 2013, Obwalden proposed buying it from Armasuisse and converting most of the land to farmland, but voters rejected the purchase funding by more than 62 percent. Sport flying is also due to end at EuroAirport Basel at the end of 2026; its flight school plans to move to Bressaucourt in the canton of Jura in early 2027.