Nicolas Kessler

Nicolas Kessler is curator of the postal and transport history and philately collection at the Museum of Communication and research assistant for the digital archive at the PTT Archive.

Fighter pilots and the origins of airmail in Switzerland

Nicolas Kessler 03.03.2026 The mass transport of mail by airplane has long been a central component of global logistics networks. But it experienced a difficult beginning in Switzerland. Moreover, the reasons behind the country’s move to airmail are not what you would expect.

Part of a global infrastructure: mail sacks ready to be loaded onto a Swissair Boeing 747 in 1973.