Fifth-freedom rights for UAE carriers to serve Mexico via Switzerland are being sought by the Gulf nation's government.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) says a decision on whether to approve the application will be made in "a few weeks".
Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss has declined to comment on the potential impact it would face were a Gulf carrier to operate flights from Geneva or Zurich to Mexican destinations.
Swiss does says it "generally" supports a "liberal policy", but is demanding "restrictive handling" of the fifth-freedom principle, arguing that "open markets [must be] coupled with safeguards against misuse of the market" such as "continual state support".
The airline urges FOCA to ensure that any granting of fifth-freedom rights serves Switzerland's economy and reflects national "market demand".
FOCA, for its part, says it would not typically grant fifth-freedom rights to foreign airlines if a Switzerland-based carrier operated flights to the countries in question.
Flightglobal's Innovata schedules show that Swiss serves no destinations in Mexico.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
