Police Warn Drivers To Clear Windshields; New Passenger Record At Basel Airport; Prisoner Shortage Closes Another Prison

News For 21 January 2020

The mild winter so far has led to complacency by drivers in a hurry - this week temperatures plummeted, and drivers often found their windshields covered with a layer of frost as they headed out for their morning commutes.  Police are warning drivers to completely clear their windows, and restore visibility.  Already two accidents have been reported as a result of hasty windshield cleaning, and the prosecutors office has issued a warning that drivers with limited visibility have liability for causing accidents.

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2019 has proved to be a record setting year for the number of passengers traveling through the international airport.  At final tally, 9.1 million passengers were recorded, an increase of 6% from the prior year.  In aggregate the number of flight movements- which measures airplanes leaving and arriving - and also accounts for commercial freight traffic, also increased 3.4% from 2018 to 2019.  However, politicians and activists representing the airport's neighboring communities are not thrilled at the growth numbers which imply additional environmental stresses.  The airport's board of directors, in a statement released alongside the statistics, say their 2030 development strategy intends to balance growth with the environmental needs of nearby residents.

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While some countries around the world face over-incarceration, unfair trials, and lack of prisons, this is not the case in Switzerland and specifically, the Basel area.  A prison in Sissach will become the 12th Swiss prison to close in Basel-land due to a decline of inmates since 2012. The Basel Security Directorate said the prison will close on February due to insufficient capacity utilization. The employees that worked at the prison will keep their jobs at other prisons in Baselland.