The main airports in Switzerland: description, list, passenger traffic

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 11:40

Switzerland is an incredibly beautiful mountainous country located in the heart of the Alps. It was here, at the end of the 19th century, that such a popular sport and recreation as mountaineering was born. Every year, tens of millions of travelers come here to ski, improve their he alth at balneological and climatic resorts, wander through the picturesque streets of ancient cities. For ease of movement, airports in Switzerland are located both in large cities and in tourist mountainous regions. Today, the independent republic is a Mecca for lovers of skiing, ecological and gastronomic tourism.

Which airports are the busiest in Switzerland

In total, there are 22 international and regional airports in the country. But only 6 of them are large enough to take more than 100,000 passengers a year. This is:

	Passengers	Height above levelseas	Ship Accepted
Zurich Airport (Kloten)	29 396 094 (2017)	432 m	270 453 (2017)
Geneva Airport	16 532 691 (2016)	430 m	189 840 (2016)
Basel Airport	7 888 725 (2017)	270 m	112 283 (2017)
Bern Airport	183 319 (2016)	510 m	50 207 (2016)
Lugano Airport	176 698 (2016)	279 m	20 563 (2016)
St. Gallen Airport	124 588 (2016)	398 m	26 382 (2016)

Of these, the first three are national, the rest have regional status.

Kloten-Zurich

This is the largest international airport in Switzerland. Located in the municipality of Kloten, 13 km north of the main business center of the country - the city of Zurich. The terminal building, a terminal complex with three docking stations and 3 main runways are located on 880 hectares: 16/34 3700 m long, 14/32 3300 m long and 10/28 2500 m long.

In 2017, Switzerland's main airport received and sent270,453 aircraft, transported more than 29.3 million passengers, which is one and a half million more than in 2016. Freight volume amounted to 490,452 tons.

The airport can be reached from the junction of the A51 motorway with Highway 4 and various minor roads. Trains running on the Zurich-Winterthur route pass through the airport's underground station. In addition, the station is served by lines S2, S16 and S24 of the Zurich S-Bahn. Travel time is 9 to 12 minutes. Public transport is also provided by numerous regional bus lines, as well as Glattalbahn trams No. 10 and No. 12.

Geneva

The second most important airport in Switzerland, located in the communes of Le Grand Saconnex and Cointrine, 4 km north of the city. It is actively used by numerous international organizations based in Geneva, including the UN and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Nearby is the Palexpo exhibition center, where the famous Geneva Motor Show takes place.

Geneva Airport has two terminals T1 and T2. The main terminal T1 is divided into five passenger zones (A, B, C, D and F). All gates in the area of zone A (and a few in zone D) are intended to serve residents of the Schengen area. The secondary terminal T2 is only used for charter flights during the winter season.

In 2012, the administration launched a new project, the East Wing (Aile Est). The new pier will receive six large-capacity aircraft. The object is characterized by modernattractive architecture using the latest environmental and building technologies. The launch of Aile Est is scheduled for 2020.

For arrivals and departures, runway 5/23 is 3900 m long and 50 m wide. It has a capacity of about 40 flights per hour. In parallel, a "take-off" 823 m long and 30 m wide for light aircraft was laid.

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

The third most important airport in Switzerland, also serving residents and guests of the neighboring cities of Mulhouse (France) and Freiburg (Germany). Located 6 km northwest of Basel on the French border, which is why the management is carried out jointly by the two states.

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg is connected to the three cities above. Buses number 50 BVB run from the Basel SBB train station at intervals of less than 10 minutes during peak hours. Travel time between the station and the airport is 15 minutes. Communication with Mulhouse is not so well organized. From the airport you will have to walk about 900 m to the railway station Saint-Louis, from where buses number 11 depart.

The infrastructure is represented by two terminals (4 halls) and two runways: 15/33 3900 m long and 8/26 1819 m long. Passenger traffic is increasing annually and is approaching 8 million people. Air freight in 2017 amounted to 112,280 tons, and the number of flights served exceeded 95,000.

List of airports in Switzerland

There are 11 regional and 3 national airports in the country:

• Kloten-Zurich International Airport (Zürich Airport).
• Geneva International Airport (Aéroport international de Genève).
• Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg International Airport (Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen).
• Bern Belp regional airport.
• Grenchen Regional Airport (Flughafen Grenchen).
• Lausanne-Blécherette Regional Airport (Flughafen Lausanne-Blécherette).
• Lugano-Agno Regional Airport (Flughafen Lugano-Agno).
• Sion Regional Airport (Flughafen Sitten).
• Birfeld Airfield (Flugplatz Birrfeld).
• Bressaucourt Airfield (Flugplatz Bressaucourt).
• Ecuvillens Airfield (Flugplatz Ecuvillens).
• Les Éplatures Airfield (Flugplatz Les Éplatures).
• Samedan Airfield (Flugplatz Samedan).
• St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airfield (Flugplatz St. Gallen-Altenrhein).

In addition, the region has many private airfields, helipads, small runways and air force bases in the settlements of Alpnach, Bouch, Dübendorf, Emmen, Interlaken, La Cote, Lodrino, Meiringen, Neuchâtel, Peiner and others.