No More Weekends Off for Swiss Air Force

Switzerland said Friday that its air defense system will no longer take weekends off effective January 1, but that round-the-clock airspace surveillance is about five years away. 

The wealthy alpine nation's aerial defense staff currently work five days a week and are on call during business hours -- from 8:00 am (0700 GMT) to 6:00 pm. 

Air force colonel Benoit Studemann said that as of 2017 the force will be on guard through the weekend but that expanded daily hours were not expected to be implemented until 2021.  

The Swiss air force's modest work schedule sparked controversy two years ago when the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines plane hijacked his aircraft and forced it to land in Geneva so he could seek asylum.

No Swiss fighter jets were scrambled to escort the plane as the hijacking happened in the early morning hours, before the air defense team had opened up for the day. 

Italian and French jets took charge of the February 2014 operation. Switzerland has bilateral air defence agreements with both neighboring countries.