Bern's city government says a ban on flight and car adverts is lawful but unworkable; left groups push for a citywide ban

Bern's city parliament (Stadtrat) voted 27 to 13 on 29 October 2026 to accept the city government's report on a 2019 request, adopted as a postulate in 2023, to ban advertising for flights, airlines and cars. The SP, the largest group, abstained, according to the news agency SDA. The city government found that a ban would probably be lawful if written into the city's advertising regulation (Reklamereglement). It said concession conditions alone would not be enough. It judged the ban impractical, citing a "considerable need for interpretation and definition" and significant administrative effort. No ban was adopted. Councillors from JA!, GB and Tier im Fokus had already filed a motion asking for adverts for passenger cars, cruises, flights and airlines to be banned throughout the city.

The finding matters for other cities: the legal route exists, but definition is the hard part, with electric and hybrid cars the obvious test. Bern's current poster concessions run to 31 December 2027, so any new rule would need to be in place before the next award. In the debate the SVP called the proposal paternalism, and an FDP councillor described it as class struggle presented as environmentalism. The new motion still has to pass the council.