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WEF at Meiringen 2023

By Frank Grealish | 19th & 20th January 2023 | Meiringen (LSMM), Switzerland

WEF at Meiringen 2023
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In January 2023 the World Economic Forum (WEF) returned to the swiss ski resort of Davos, and as usual, the Swiss Air Force flew constant Combat Air Patrol (CAP) protection missions in the airspace near Davos to protect against any unauthorised aerial intrusions.

In 2023 the CAP missions were flown from the picturesque air base of Meiringen by Fliegerstaffel 11.

Fliegerstaffel 11 is home based at Meiringen, the WEF flights were run in parallel to the Flugplatzkommando 13 Wiederholungskursen (WK - refresher course).

While the WEF flights operated for only a week, the WK is a 4 week long refresher course, during which the conscript organisation Flugplatzkommando 13 works closely with the full-time professionals at the Flugplatzkommando Meiringen to maintain air base operations.

Dusk departure of Hornet J-5012
Dusk departure of Hornet J-5012. A tripod will allow you to take pictures like this during night flying operations at Meiringen.
While the WEF flights don't operate on a 24/7 basis, they do start early in the morning and continue well in to evening, offering photographers the opportunity to take photos in daylight / low light and night time conditions.

One thing to be aware of is the lack of sunlight on the aircraft due to the high, steep mountain walls directly to the south of the air base. During January, the base and the aircraft are in shade, with very limited opportunities to catch the aircraft in sunshine, however, the regular departures & landings, combined with all the various photo locations, as well an onsite restaurant that any visitor can use, makes a visit to Meiringen worthwhile when the aircraft are flying.

Please note, Meiringen has quiet months / weeks, so make sure to do your research before travelling, the official Occupancy Plan is a good place to start.

Photography around the air base is easy, the scenery is spectacular, the fence is low and steps are not normally required. Websites such as Scramble and Spotter Guide offer photo location information if you are considering a visit.

The photos in this report were taken over a period of 2 days, Thursday 19th and Friday 20th January. Thursday was a full day of operations but Friday was a short day as the WEF at Davos was starting to wind down. Another thing to be aware of when taking photos in Switzerland in January is the weather... due to heavy snow on the Wednesday afternoon, flight operations moved to Payerne and Meiringen was closed.

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