GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – One of the curious details to come out of Monday’s hijacking of an Ethiopian airliner by its co-pilot was reported by RTS public broadcasting: the Swiss air force was not at work yet, so the plane was escorted first by Italian, then by French military planes.

Swiss fighter pilots don’t begin work until 08:00, so they weren’t available and the plane was accompanied to Geneva by two Italian Eurofighters, then two French Mirage 2000 jets once it crossed into French air space, until Geneva, where the airport sits on the Swiss-French border.

The Swiss military works from 08:00-12:00 and 13:30-17:00, due to lack of funds, but the situation will be corrected – in 2020, reports RTS.