Swiss Air Force unable to intercept Ethiopian airliner because air bases were closed

When the copilot of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-702 hijacked the aircraft to Switzerland, the Swiss Air Force did not scramble any fighters to intercept as the hijack happened outside working hours.

Swiss fighter pilots don’t begin work until 8a.am. and thus the airliner was first escorted by Italian Eurofighters and later French Mirage 2000 fighters whom escorted the airliner to Geneva.

[thumb]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-17/invading-switzerland-try-before-8-or-after-5.html[/thumb]