9 Star Hotel

• Introduction
• North Korea and South Korea: The World's Most Fortified Border
• Israel and Palestinian Territories: An Ethnic Divide
• Morocco and Spain: Contrasting Demographics at the Door Between Africa and Europe
• The United States and Canada: Transboundary Environmental Cooperation
• France, Switzerland, and Germany: Tri-National Transportation
• Southern Africa: Cross-Border Health Initiative to Combat HIV/AIDS
• The Golden Triangle: Regional Approach Opium Eradication and Narcotraffic Control
• Economic Development and Trade Across Borders: Free Trade Agreements in South America
• Energy Wars: The Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute and Russia's Rise To the Global Energy Elite
• The U.S.-Mexico Hyperborder: The Boundary Between a Superpower and a Developing Nation
• The (U.S.-Mexico) Hyperborder in the Global Context

France, Switzerland, and Germany: Tri-National Transportation

The EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is the only completely trinational airport in the world, and it provides transportation to its surrounding tri-national region. Located in France close to the borders of Switzerland and Germany, the airport is jointly operated by the Swiss and the French, with German representatives serving as advisors. The airport, which is administered under international law, is equipped with both French and Swiss customs sectors, as well as an international zone that all passengers enter before boarding the plane. Residents of the entire tri-national region consider it their "home"airport, through which they have access to more than a hundred international destinations.¹² The French and the Swiss each comprise about 38 percent of local passengers, with Germans constituting the remaining 24 percent -- figures that demonstrate how comprehensively the airport works to serve its patrons from all three countries. The tri-border area, called Regio TriRhena, is also complemented by a public ground-transportation system equipped with trains and buses connecting the same communities that utilize the airport, further emphasizing the harmonious nature of the tri-national region.

The EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is located in France and jointly operated by the Swiss and the French, with German representatives.

The EuroAirport and Regio TriRhena present a unique model for the rest of the world for functional cross-border transportation and collaborative human and economic relations. In recent years, committees from the Middle East and Eastern Europe have visited the EuroAirport seeking guidance on potential application of the successful cooperative strategies to their own border regions.¹³ The example of the tri-border transport systems shows that international relations around the world would be well served to implement efficient cross-border transportation programs as they demonstrate an ability to cooperate, reach agreements, and provide beneficial services to populations residing in border regions.

Next Border: Southern Africa »

Footnotes
12. "EuroAirport: The Bi-national Airport with a Tri-national Function" (press release), April 2006, (accessed Sept. 5, 2006).
13. Ibid.