FOCA blocks plan to turn former military airfield Kägiswil into civilian training hub

In a decision released on 16 July 2026, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/UFAC) rejected an application by the Obwalden Airfield Cooperative (FGOW) to convert the former Kägiswil military aerodrome into a civilian facility. The cooperative had hoped to use the site—currently operated under a lease from the defence procurement agency armasuisse—for pilot training, maintenance flights and light general-aviation traffic once military operations ceased. FOCA’s ruling cites multiple procedural deficiencies. During the public-consultation phase the project attracted significant local opposition, and the cooperative failed to obtain the legally required written consent of all landowners inside the airfield perimeter. A Federal Administrative Court judgment in 2025 upheld FOCA’s demand for those consents. When FGOW was still unable to produce them—and subsequently submitted substantial project changes outside the original dossier—regulators concluded that the approval procedure could not continue. The decision has immediate practical implications: the surface-rights contract that allows FGOW to use the airfield expires at the end of September 2026, and armasuisse will now co-ordinate an orderly hand-back of the site by January 2027. Businesses that had anticipated basing training operations or maintenance hangars at Kägiswil will need to seek alternative Swiss aerodromes, such as Grenchen or Birrfeld, where capacity is limited and slot allocation competitive. From a regional-development standpoint, Obwalden canton loses a potential economic stimulus tied to aviation services and visitor traffic. FOCA, however, stresses that any change-of-use must comply with the 2020 sectoral aviation-infrastructure plan (PSIA) and cannot override property rights or noise-protection standards. The cooperative retains the right to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court, but industry observers believe chances of overturning the verdict are slim unless land-ownership hurdles are resolved. The ruling underscores Switzerland’s strict zoning and environmental framework for airfields—a factor global mobility managers should weigh when planning private-aviation or flight-training arrangements in the country. Operators are advised to verify site status early in project planning and to engage local stakeholders to avoid costly delays.