LSR airspace zones

There are two types of airspace zone with the prefix “LSR” which appear on the Swiss Glider Chart that can cause confusion.  As both are by definition “restricted”, some flight instruments may flag them up as apparently forbidden to enter and create unnecessary anxiety for pilots unfamiliar with this terminology.  One type is marked on the air chart in red and the other in green, as shown in the header image on this page.

Those shown in red are of no consequence unless shown as active by NOTAM or on the Daily Airspace Bulletin for SwitzerlandThe Airspace brochure on the SHV website states “All LS-Rs and LS-Ds on the glider chart which are not marked in red in the daily DABS are not active on this day and therefore irrelevant for our flight for the whole day”.  The nearest of these zones to Fiesch is LSR8A, which you encounter on reaching the Grimsel Pass when heading east.  In all my years flying around Fiesch, I have never seen this shown as active, but it would impose a height restriction of 2,800m until you are approaching Andermatt.  However, I have noticed LSR49 activated several times a year when used as a military firing range.

The areas marked in green are “LSRs for gliders”.  In these zones, there is a reduction in the minimum distances from clouds which we (as gliders) must observe.  Although this type of airspace actually represents an easing of the rules for us, it is by definition classified as restricted, hence the potential for confusion.