Some 70 participants in Switzerland’s latest two-week SPHAIR aviation training programme gathered at Zurich Airport on Monday 13 November together with a number of media representatives to take part in a unique aviation event. In a collaboration between SPHAIR, the Swiss Air Force, LAT and SWISS, the would-be pilots were to be taken aloft in a SWISS Airbus A220 to witness an intercept exercise performed by two Swiss Air Force F/A-18 Hornets accompanied by a third aircraft carrying a camera team. So after a brief address on the ground by Swiss Air Force pilot and SPHAIR executive director Beat Hedinger and SWISS Head of Operations Oliver Buchhofer, it was all aboard Airbus A220 HB-JCC for this very special event.

“Cabin crew, prepare for departure”

In the capable hands of SWISS Captain Sandro Alpinice and his crew, the SWISS twinjet took off from Zurich at 13:45 and headed for the skies above Canton Graubünden in Southeast Switzerland, where the dense cloud soon gave way to breathtaking views of the Alps below. This was no standard sightseeing flight, though: as if out of nowhere, three Swiss Air Force F/A-18 Hornets suddenly appeared on the A220’s port side and Captain Alpinice was informed:

“You are about to be intercepted by Swiss Air Force fighter jets”

While its lucky passengers observed the whole procedure ‘up close and personal’ through their cabin windows, a Swiss Air Force pilot provided a running commentary on the intercept from the A220’s cockpit. Via radio, with hand gestures, by waggling their wings and by firing flares, the air force fighters made their presence felt and instructed our A220 to leave its present airspace. After some 40 minutes of such aerial policing manoeuvres, the fighters broke off to return to Payerne Air Force Base. With a final wing waggle, they left as fast as they had arrived, and our SWISS Airbus made its way back to Zurich.

After the landing at 15:00, it wasn’t just the SPHAIR trainees who had clearly been thrilled by the experience. “A flight like this is a truly unforgettable thing: I loved every moment of it,” enthused SWISS First Officer and SPHAIR instructor Pascal Maader. SWISS Commander Sandro Alpinice was equally impressed: “Experiencing our Air Force from such close quarters and even getting to waggle your wings at them – amazing!”

The unique event was rounded off with a podium discussion featuring pilots from SWISS, Edelweiss and the Swiss Air Force as well as a flight student at LAT in which the young participants in the SPHAIR programme could ask all their questions about the pilot’s profession and the training it entails. And so ended a day packed with aviation experiences that left these possible pilots of tomorrow with a gleam in their eyes and with even more drive and resolve to pursue their flying dreams.