Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Meiringen Air Base (LSMM) is a Swiss Air Force fighter station tucked into the steep-sided Aar valley near Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, one of only three remaining Swiss fighter bases alongside Payerne and Emmen. Its single runway runs parallel to the river between towering alpine walls, with taxiways leading to aircraft caverns cut into the mountainside, making it one of the most visually striking military airfields in Europe. The base is home to F/A-18 Hornet and F-5E Tiger squadrons and is not open to civil traffic.
Meiringen is a Swiss Air Force airbase, also known as the Unterbach Military Airfield, set within the dramatic alpine valley of the Aar river in the Bernese Oberland. It is one of only three fighter bases still operated by the Swiss Air Force, alongside Payerne and Emmen, and is home to militia Squadron 8 'Destructors' flying the Northrop F-5E Tiger and the professional Fliegerstaffel 11 'Tigers' flying the F/A-18 Hornet. For a simulator pilot the appeal lies in the combination of a short mountain-valley runway, retractable arresting gear, and the base's celebrated aircraft caverns bored into the valley side, all set against a backdrop of towering peaks.
The airfield lies in the canton of Bern, in the Aar river valley near the hamlet of Unterbach and the town of Meiringen. It is flanked to the north by the main road into Meiringen, the Aar river itself, and the Brünig railway line, while taxiways to the south connect the runway to aircraft caverns built into the valley wall. Field elevation is 1890 feet. As an active Swiss Air Force fighter base, the surrounding airspace is subject to military control and the field is not available for civilian arrivals or departures.
Meiringen has a single physical runway, 10/28, with a hard surface measuring 6436 feet on the 10 threshold and 6433 feet on the 28 threshold; both directions are lit. There is no ILS. The runway is fitted with retractable arresting gear devices at both ends, normally used by the F/A-18 and, in emergencies, by the F-5.
Published frequencies for Meiringen include a tower frequency of 130.15 MHz, an information frequency of 138.05 MHz, and arrival/departure frequencies of 138.275 MHz and 137.012 MHz. No published instrument approach or navaid information is available.
No published civilian joining or circuit procedures are available for this base, reflecting its status as a closed military airfield. Noise from fighter operations is monitored locally via an airport noise monitoring system, and noise emissions from military jets remain a point of concern for the surrounding population and tourism businesses.
The airfield is easily identified from the air by its position in the narrow Aar valley, running alongside the river and the Brünig railway line, with the main Meiringen road immediately to the north. The Rothorn peak overlooks the base from above, and the aircraft caverns cut into the southern valley wall are a distinctive feature visible from a distance.
Meiringen Air Base began operations on 1 December 1941. It played an important role in 1946 when the base launched and coordinated the rescue operation following the C-53 Skytrooper crash on the Gauli Glacier, the first time a glacier rescue by aircraft had been attempted anywhere in the world. An aircraft cavern was built after the Second World War, and in the 1970s a further tunnel begun for the A-7G Corsair II was instead completed as an ammunition storage cavern when that aircraft was not purchased. With the introduction of the F/A-18 Hornet the original cavern was rebuilt with an additional tunnel, allowing aircraft to enter and exit simultaneously and to manoeuvre inside without a crane. Militia Squadron 8 'Destructors', flying the F-5E Tiger, moved to Meiringen from Buochs Airport in 2004, and the professional Fliegerstaffel 11 'Tigers', flying the F/A-18, arrived from Dübendorf Air Base in 2007.
Meiringen remains an active Swiss Air Force base and, following the 2016 closure of Sion, is one of only three fighter bases in the country alongside Payerne and Emmen. It is the home base of militia Squadron 8 'Destructors' with the F-5E Tiger and the professional Fliegerstaffel 11 with the F/A-18 Hornet, employing around 190 to 200 personnel plus around 25 training places, making it an important economic presence in the region. It is the only Swiss airbase to use an aircraft cavern in daily operations. A small base museum in Hangar 1 is open to visitors on Wednesday afternoons between 13:30 and 15:30 from May to October, displaying an Aérospatiale Alouette III and a Northrop F-5E Tiger among other exhibits; registration is not required. As a military installation, prior permission is required for any flying activity and the field is not available to civilian traffic.