How bad does GA suck in Switzerland?

A quick Q: which Swiss airports can one use to/from the UK?

Grenchen, Lausanne and Les Eplatures with PN only.

For flights to and from Schengen countries, there are many more. In fact, the majority of airfields in Switzerland can be used for that, albeit often with complex PPR procedures.

In Germany, all 400+ airfields/airports can be used if no goods to be declared are carried.

To answer this:

Maybe I should have been a bit more specific. My post was not necessarily about the technicalities, of which I am aware (mostly). It is more about losing the “sense of freedom” which I enjoy so much now.

Well, yes, in these terms, Switzerland does suck. Rules over rules over rules. Every airfield‘s VFR Manual‘s entry has 1-2 pages full with do‘s and don‘ts. Typically Swiss. Lots of airfields have weird opening hour restrictions. Etc.

But the scenery sort of compensates a bit for that..

In Germany, all 400+ airfields/airports can be used if no goods to be declared are carried.

The above is for CH → DE or DE → CH ?

Yes. For DE-CH, this used to be the case for many years. For CH-DE, it has been the case for about 2 years.

Does the above list also apply to CH – UK?

Presumably the CH AIP must reflect that list, by stating both Immigration and Customs.

What happened with Locarno LSZL? The AIP (curiously not available via Eurocontrol) shows “Customs”.

Yes, I posted the list above as a reply to your question

which Swiss airports can one use to/from the UK?

No one would go to Switzerland for just 26% more. Usually has to be at least 50% more to account for the high cost of living, although that obviously depends on the starting point.

As far as I can tell, foreigners being treated as unwelcome is indeed a big problem in Switzerland. Many do it for a couple of years and then go back to where they came from. But some people stay.