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Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
of
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and the principal hub of
Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
. It serves
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, Switzerland's largest city, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest of the country. The airport is located north of central Zürich, in the municipalities of
Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...
,
Rümlang Rümlang is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). Zurich Airport is partially located in Rümlang. Geography Rümlang has an area of . Of t ...
,
Oberglatt Oberglatt is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dielsdorf (district), Dielsdorf in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). Zur ...
, Winkel, and
Opfikon Opfikon (; in the local Swiss German dialect: )Andres Kristol/Gabrielle Schmid, ''Opfikon ZH (Bülach)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni sviz ...
, all of which are within the
canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
.


History


Early years

In the Zürich area, mixed civil and military air traffic developed from 1909 onwards at Dübendorf airfield, northeast of the city. From 1919, the airport was home to
Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
's predecessor
Ad Astra Aero Ad Astra Aero (Latin for "to the stars air") was a Swiss airline based at Zürichhorn in Zürich. Early years Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the "Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus" (literally: Swiss ...
, and from 1932 also to Swissair. The first international flight from Switzerland landed on July 21, 1921. In the early years of aviation, the
Dübendorf Air Base Dübendorf Military Airport (german: Militärflugplatz Dübendorf) was a military airfield of the Swiss Air Force northeast of Dübendorf in Switzerland, located east of Zürich. History The search for a suitable site for an airfield started ...
, located some to the Zurich Airport, also served as the city's commercial airfield. The need for a dedicated commercial facility led to the search for a location at which to build a replacement airport. In 1939, civil air traffic had to be suspended at the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
for military strategic reasons. Although Swissair was allowed to resume scheduled air traffic in September 1940, this remained on a modest scale during the war. In March 1943, the government of the
canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
commissioned a study to identify possible locations for the construction of a major airport. In its report, a consortium of engineers and architects led by ''Locher & Cie'' company advised against the previously discussed expansion options at
Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...
airport and instead recommended a separate civil airport in the partially forested moorland area of the armory situated between
Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...
and
Oberglatt Oberglatt is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dielsdorf (district), Dielsdorf in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). Zur ...
. In August 1943, the
Federal Military Department The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, r ...
declared its agreement to abandon the armory as a matter of principal "in the higher national interest". Locher & Cie submitted "Project I" to the Government on 31 December 1943. Four runways were planned and together with the buildings the required area was 472 hectares. Without the purchase of land, the project would have cost 87 million CHF. The government found the costs too high and ordered a revision. The "Project II" of 29 April 1944 still provided for an area of 290 hectares and costs of 65 million CHF, but the government council demanded a further reduction. For "Project III" of 31 July 1944, 54.4 million and 215 hectares were required. The project nevertheless met the requirements of an
intercontinental airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highwa ...
. The Government formally approved it and submitted it to the Federal Government, strongly emphasizing that the Zurich project was "far superior" to the also planned (and ultimately abandoned) Swiss Central Airport
Utzenstorf Utzenstorf is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is regionally famous for its medieval castle, Landshut Castle. History Utzenstorf is first mentioned in 1175 as ''Uzansdorf''. ...
near
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
. In December 1944, the responsible
Federal Councillor The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governm ...
,
Enrico Celio Enrico Celio (19 June 1889 – 23 February 1980) was a Swiss lawyer, politician and journalist, a member of the Conservative Party, State Councilor and Federal Councilor. He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 22 February 1940 ...
, explicitly spoke out in favour of Zürich-Kloten, in a letter to his counterparts, as did the governments of the cantons of Eastern and Central Switzerland and
Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
a month later. The National Council and Council of States followed this view and on 22 June 1945 approved the "Federal Decree on the Expansion of Civil Airports".
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
and
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
were to receive smaller continental airports and be supported with a 30 percent share of the costs. The Zurich project was granted the status of an intercontinental airport and the highest possible subsidy rate of 35 percent. Switzerland's federal parliament decided in 1945 that Zürich was to be the site of a major airport, and sold of the ''Kloten-Bülach
Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
'' (german: Artillerie-Waffenplatz Kloten-Bülach) to the canton of Zürich, giving the canton control of the new airfield. Construction of the airport began the following year. Initial plans for the airport, as laid out in the Federal government's scheme of 1945, were centered on facilities capable of handling international airline traffic. Aircraft of up to 80 tons were envisaged. The primary runway was to be designed for use in all weathers and at night, with a -wide hard surface running to in length. Additional areas were to be provided on the shoulders for lateral protection in case of
runway excursion A runway excursion is a runway safety incident where an aircraft makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. Runway excursions include runway overruns, where an aircraft is unable to stop before it reaches the end of the runway. Runway excursio ...
s. Additional domestic runways, between in length, were also to be built.


First stage of construction: civil engineering

On 25 February 1946, the
Cantonal Council This is a list of cantonal legislatures of Switzerland. Each canton has a democratically elected cantonal legislature, as well as elected members to the Federal Assembly. The cantonal legislatures are elected for four years, except in Fribour ...
approved a building loan of 36.8 million. The cantonal referendum of 5 May 1946 resulted in a clear approval with 105,705 votes in favour, 29,372 against. "Project IV" never came to fruition, as it was further developed by adapting it to the
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
standards which were changing rapidly at the time. Instead of four runways, the new "Project V" of 20 May 1946 provided only three. Project VI" of 9 October 1946 increased the dimensions of all three runways. Finally, the slightly modified "Project VII" of 20 December 1947 was realised. Within three years, the design on the drawing board had completely changed from a purely grass airfield with a four-runway system without taxiways to a three-runway system with paved taxiways. The staggered design meant that it was possible to react to changes without having to impose a complete halt to construction. Construction works finally began on 5 May 1946 with the diversion of the Altbach stream. The 1900 m long West Runway 10/28 was the first runway which was opened on 14 June 1948, and on which the first Swissair
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
took off for
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. On behalf of the canton as airport owner, Cantonal Councillor Jakob Kägi gave a speech to mark the inauguration of the new runway and the start of provisional flight operations. Shortly after, on 17 November 1948, the 2600 m long blind runway 16/34 (runway with
instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
) was opened for operation, which was attended by the seven members of the cantonal government. In the presence of invited guests from politics and the media as well as representatives of the construction companies and airlines, the new airport was inaugurated, which meant that the relocation of the entire civil flight operations from Dübendorf to Kloten had already been completed and full operation could begin at the new Zurich Airport. The 1535 m long Bisen runway 02/20, which belonged to the three-runway system of 1948, was of little importance. Due to the applicable crosswind regulations at that time, the runway was designed to face the Bise in order to guarantee the airport's all-weather capability. However, the ICAO increased the crosswind tolerances for aircraft in subsequent revisions to such an extent that the runway was decommissioned after just over ten years.


First stage of construction: structural engineering

The character of a provisional solution was supported - despite full operation - by the lack of buildings, especially the "Flughof", which had been planned since 1946. Instead, a growing shanty town stood to the east of the reserved building site. On 27 October 1948, the canton outsourced the development, construction and operation of the buildings to the newly founded "Flughafen-Immobilien-Gesellschaft" (FIG), a mixed-economy
public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company ...
in which the public sector held half of the shares (canton of Zürich 22.5%, city of Zürich 18%, "
Zürcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonal Bank (german: Zürcher Kantonalbank, or ZKB) is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in Switzerland, as well as the leading financial services provider in the Greater Zurich area, with total assets of over CHF 150 bil ...
" 5%, city of
Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
3.6% and municipality of
Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...
0.9%). The
FIG The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
took over projects that had been started and was thus able to hand over the completed "shipyard I" to
Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
for use as early as late autumn 1948, followed by offices for Swissair's technical departments, which were finally able to leave
Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...
by the end of April 1949. Further workshops, the striking arched hangar and the "Heating Centre I" for the heat supply were completed by the end of 1949. Based on "Project V", the terminal building had already been designed as a
convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope ...
building at the airport head in mid-1946. In the following four years, a total of 24 feasible airport project designs were submitted, before the FIG commissioned the construction of the airport according to plans by Alfred and Heinrich Oeschger in November 1950. At the beginning of 1951, the piling work for the terminal building began, the construction work took about two years. With the opening on 9 April 1953, the shanty town could be abandoned. The new building consisted of a central passenger wing, flanked by a restaurant and an office wing. In addition there was a spectator terrace of 200m length.


The first years of operation

As had been expected the construction costs had been significantly exceeded. Several metres of raised bog were removed and backfilled with material from the Holberg; the concrete area had also increased from the originally planned 420,000 m2 to a good 611,000 m2. In addition, the former weapons range area had to be searched for unexploded bombs, of which a total of 157 were found. The costs for "Project IV", estimated at CHF 59.5 million in 1946, had risen to CHF 106 million by the time the civil engineering works under "Project VII" were completed in July 1949. Both chambers of the Federal Assembly concluded the political review with the "Federal Decree on the Payment of Additional Federal Contributions to the Construction of Zürich-Kloten Airport" of 29 September 1949. The Federation contributed CHF 27.1 million and doubled its contribution to the air traffic control facilities. For its part, the
Cantonal Council This is a list of cantonal legislatures of Switzerland. Each canton has a democratically elected cantonal legislature, as well as elected members to the Federal Assembly. The cantonal legislatures are elected for four years, except in Fribour ...
granted a supplementary credit on 13 February 1950. This was accepted by the voters on 7 May 1950 with 73,551 votes to 59,088 (yes share of 55.45%). The new terminal opened in 1953 with a large air show that ran three days. In 1947, the airport handled 133,638 passengers on 12,766 airline flights; in 1952, 372,832 passengers on 24,728 airline flights.


Second stage of construction

Locher & Cie was commissioned in 1954 to design various project options for the second construction phase. In March 1956, the canton submitted an extended project to the Federal Council. In addition to mandatory runway extensions for the incipient "jet age", the project also provided for the extension of the public facilities, which were already overused and dominated by various provisional arrangements; two finger docks were to defuse the situation. On 12 October 1956, the Federal Council recommended that parliament approve the bill. On 19 December 1956, the Council of States approved the federal contribution of CHF 54.8 million (at a total cost of 181.8 million), the National Council followed suit on 7 March 1957. The contribution of the canton of Zürich of CHF 74.3 million was still outstanding, the rest was to be raised by
FIG The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
and Swissair. The concrete expansion project included the extension of the blind runway to 4000 m and the western runway to 3150 m, as well as the extension of the buildings. Opponents described the "super airport Kloten" as a "luxury" and criticised that the canton had "lost every measure". Another issue that planners had completely neglected until then was the aircraft noise. With a high turnout of 72.3%, the expansion project failed in the cantonal referendum of 23 June 1957 with 97,603 votes to 83,196 (no vote of 54.0%). Just four days later, the Zürich's catonal government commissioned a redimensioned expansion project. The blind runway was to be only 3700 m long, the western runway 2500 m; the construction of the finger docks was abandoned. Thus the canton's share of the project to be approved was only CHF 49.1 million. The government gave far more attention to the aircraft noise. On 6 July 1958, voters approved the project by 107,050 votes to 56,872 (yes share 65.3%), with a 65.6% share. Due to time pressure - the landing of the first jet aircraft was planned for the following year - construction work began without waiting for approval of the federal funding. In December 1958 and March 1959 respectively, the National Council and the Council of States granted subsidies of 55.6 million. In 1959,
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
started regular flight connections to Zürich with the revised "Comet IV", while the airport was still a construction site. The first buildings were completed in 1960, and the terminal building, which had been considered an attractive design, lost its symmetrical appearance. To the east, towards the former shanty town, office wing A1, office wing B and the air traffic control building were added with a connecting structure. The "Fracht West" building, which had been extended at short notice during construction to provide additional office space, was located somewhat off the main building. In the hangar area in the southwest, Heating Station II was put into operation and the Hangar II, which was designed for jet aircraft, was handed over to Swissair, shortly after the arrival of the Sud Aviation "Caravelle III" and the Douglas DC-8-32 in May 1960. Finally, in the summer of 1961, Swissair's in-flight catering service was given a new building between the head of the airport and the hangar area. The canton of Zürich acquired a further 135 hectares of land for the expansion of the civil engineering works, which lasted until the beginning of 1961 in parallel with the construction of the buildings. The apron areas were enlarged, particularly at the airport head and in the hangar area; the pier was also extended from 16 to 28 aircraft parking spaces, and
buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
were purchased to provide access to them. The west runway 10/28 was extended by 600 metres to the west, towards
Rümlang Rümlang is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). Zurich Airport is partially located in Rümlang. Geography Rümlang has an area of . Of t ...
, and opened on 1 January 1961 with its new operating length of 2500 metres. Blind runway 16/34 was extended 400 metres to the south in the direction of
Opfikon Opfikon (; in the local Swiss German dialect: )Andres Kristol/Gabrielle Schmid, ''Opfikon ZH (Bülach)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni sviz ...
and 700 metres to the north in the direction of
Oberglatt Oberglatt is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dielsdorf (district), Dielsdorf in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). Zur ...
. At its new operating length of 3700 m, it was released on 15 March 1961. By the time work was completed, the paved area at the airport covered 1,013,000 m2.


Extension of the Terminal Building

Although virtually all the buildings of the second phase had been completed by the end of 1961, the extension of the terminal building was still at the design stage. After the passenger terminal with two finger docks had failed in the cantonal referendum, the FIG had worked out a new project until 1958. This envisaged a two-storey transverse hall on the landside of the airport, on the two main floors of which arriving and departing passengers were functionally separated. For cost reasons, the federal government demanded a considerable redimensioning, which led to an open dispute about the preferred design. When the conflict, described by the media as a "war of experts", threatened to escalate, President Willy Spühler invited representatives of the Federation and the cantons to a conference on 9 December 1963. During the conference, FIG's airport planners and the canton of Zürich prevailed against the federal government. The canton only had to make concessions for the commercial parts of the project, such as the restaurant wing. The dispatch of the Federal Council, submitted on 1 March 1965, requested a federal contribution of 23.1 million to the total costs of 129.4 million. Of this, 2.1 million was earmarked for the connection of the airport to the national road network and for the preparation of a connection to the planned (but never built)
Zürich underground railway Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. The National Council and Council of States adopted the bill in October 1965, allowing construction work to begin the following year. The motorway loop was in operation from 1968. Finally, with the opening of the last new hall wing on 1 April 1971, the extension of the terminal building was completed. The first signs of noise mitigation for the airport were in 1972, when a night-time curfew was enacted, as well as in 1974 when new approach routes were introduced. Runway 14/32 was opened in 1976, and 16/34 began renovation.


Attacks on El Al aircraft

On 18 February 1969, four armed members of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...
(PFLP) attacked
El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
flight 432, firing Kalashnikov assault rifles at the
Boeing 720 The Boeing 720 is an American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate was ...
B whilst it prepared for takeoff. The
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
employee Mordechai Rachamim fired back with his pistol and killed the
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
Abdel Mohsen Hassan. The three remaining assassins were each sentenced to twelve years in prison. The aircraft's co-pilot subsequently died of his injuries. The attack marked the beginning of a discussion about airport security that had never been raised until then in Switzerland. On 21 February 1970 a parcel bomb exploded in Swissair's
Convair CV-990 The Convair 990 Coronado is an American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in respon ...
on flight SR330 (Zurich-
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
). In the crash near
Würenlingen Würenlingen is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Würenlingen has an area, , of . Of this area, 29.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 49.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, ...
all 47 people on board were killed. Investigations revealed that a PFLP terrorist group had carried out the bomb attack. The actual target, however, had been an El Al flight from Munich to Tel Aviv, whose mail had been sent with Swissair to Zürich due to long delays. In 1970 the PFLP obtained the release of the three terrorists convicted in Switzerland and other comrades-in-arms imprisoned abroad through coordinated hijackings. Flights affected were SR 100 (Zurich-
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
),
TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
flight TW741,
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
flight PA93 and
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
flight BA775.


Third stage of construction

In January 1969, the Zürich's Cantonal Council approved a loan for preparatory work for the third stage of expansion. The project that was subsequently drawn up clearly exceeded the previous dimensions. The plans included the extension of the existing runways, a 3300 m long runway, additional taxiways, the enlargement of the pier to 47 stands, a new terminal with finger dock, two multi-storey car parks, additional technical buildings, an airport railway station and a new
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
. In addition, there were various extensions and conversions of existing buildings. The costs were estimated at CHF 777.6 million (not including the air traffic control building and railway station). Since this project was hardly different from the "super airport" rejected in 1957, criticism was immediately voiced again by the "Protection Association of the Population around Zurich Airport" (SBFZ) and the community of
Höri Höri is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). History Höri is first mentioned in as ''Hoerein''. Geography Höri has an area of . Of this are ...
, which was located directly in the approach corridor. The SBFZ even demanded the resumption of the central airport concept that was dropped in 1945 - instead of
Utzenstorf Utzenstorf is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is regionally famous for its medieval castle, Landshut Castle. History Utzenstorf is first mentioned in 1175 as ''Uzansdorf''. ...
this time in the "Grosse Moos", with two runways jutting into
Lake Neuchâtel Lake Neuchâtel (french: Lac de Neuchâtel ; frp, Lèc de Nôchâtél; german: Neuenburgersee) is a lake primarily in Romandy, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by t ...
. The supporters of the Zurich airport expansion argued primarily with the economic benefit. In order to take the wind out of the sails of aircraft noise criticism, the government and cantonal council are drafting an aircraft noise law (including a ban on night flights), which should be submitted to a referendum at the same time as the expansion bill. After the Cantonal Council had approved both bills in July 1970, the referendum was held on 27 September 1970. The proposal for expansion was approved by 103,867 votes to 64,192 (61.8% yes), the Aircraft Noise Act by 134,501 votes to 32,590 (80.5% yes). The following year, the Federal Assembly approved a federal contribution of 240.3 million. Construction work on the third stage also began in 1971. In 1973, Hangar III, Cargo Hall East, Car Park F and the
General Aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
Centre were completed. In 1974 the "Werkhof" (work yard), an office building and
multistorey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
E were added, in 1975 the apron, multi-storey car park B and Terminal B with finger dock, and in 1976 the Airport Plaza shopping and service centre located in multi-storey car park B. Additional costs were incurred due to numerous adjustments to the construction project. The additional credit of 25.8 million was accepted by Zurich voters on 7 December 1975 with 178,723 to 87,303 votes (67.2% yes). The canton supplemented this credit with ordinary and extraordinary budget credits from the building department. In March 1976 the Federal Assembly approved an additional federal contribution of 39.7 million. As the centrepiece of the third stage, runway 14/32 was opened on 1 April 1976, increasing capacity by a third. In the early days, the new runway served exclusively for landing traffic. The rail link, which had been approved by parliament in 1975 in a separate federal decree, was still outstanding. As this was a project of the
Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
(SBB), the cost allocation differed greatly. Of the total costs of 285 million, the SBB contributed 60%, the Federation 33% and the canton of Zürich 7%. The project comprised the Zürich Flughafen railway station under Terminal B (on which construction had been underway since 1971) and a new line between
Bassersdorf Bassersdorf (High Alemannic: ''Baserschtoorff'') is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Zürich, located in the district of Bülach, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). History The name, mentioned in 1155 as ''Bazzelstorf' ...
and
Glattbrugg Opfikon (; in the local Swiss German dialect: )Andres Kristol/Gabrielle Schmid, ''Opfikon ZH (Bülach)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni sviz ...
. After nine years of construction, the ceremonial opening of the airport line took place on 29 May 1980.


Fourth stage of construction

In the second half of the 1970s, the volume of traffic continued to rise sharply, so the canton of Zürich, the FIG and Swissair worked out a project for the fourth construction phase. On 28 September 1980, with 142,240 to 104,775 votes (57.6%), Zürich voters accepted a loan of CHF 48 million for civil engineering works, which were part of the forthcoming construction work. Also in 1980, the
Federal Office of Civil Aviation The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA, german: Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt; french: Office fédéral de l'aviation civile; it, Ufficio federale dell'aviazione civile) is the Swiss civil aviation agency, a division of the Federal Departm ...
published a new airport concept, which replaced that of 1945. The focus was now on qualitative expansion, taking into account spatial planning and environmental protection considerations. Based on this concept, the Federal Assembly approved the "Building Programme 1981-1985". This programme provided for investments of CHF 393.3 million in Zürich-Kloten, but the subsidy contribution of 10.3% was significantly lower than for the
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and Basel-Mulhouse airports. This was justified by the catch-up demand of the two other major Swiss airports. The central element of the fourth stage was the finger dock in Terminal A with 13 docking positions. Also planned were a new
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
, a baggage sorting system, an additional multi-storey car park, waiting rooms and an operations centre for aircraft crews. Later, Zürich's cantonal government also decided to renew the damaged western runway, which had to be closed for two and a half months in the summer of 1985 for this purpose. Fingerdock A was put into operation on 1 November 1985, the new 41 m high control tower on 29 April 1986. There were also plans to expand the airport's cargo facilities. However, a corresponding loan of CHF 57 million was narrowly rejected in the referendum of 6 September 1987 by 106,722 to 98,663 votes (52.0% against). The project, which was subsequently revised and approved by Zürich's Cantonal Council in 1989, focused on more efficient use of the existing facilities, thereby enabling the handling of an additional 100,000 tonnes of freight annually.


Fifth stage of construction ("Airport 2000")

The cantonal popular initiative "for moderate air traffic" submitted in January 1991 intended to limit the airport to its then status, i.e. neither to allow more aircraft movements nor to expand the infrastructure. In the vote of 26 September 1993, however, it did not stand a chance and was clearly rejected by 235,531 votes to 112,476 (67.6%). Nine months later, Zürich's cantonal government submitted a proposal for a loan of CHF 873 million to the cantonal council. The fifth construction phase, known as "Airport 2000" and costing a total of CHF 2.4 billion, was intended to replace outdated systems and further expand existing facilities. At the heart of the project was the construction of a third terminal, Dock E "Midfield", located between the three runways. The
Skymetro The Zurich Airport Skymetro is an underground airport people mover at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The long system connects the airport's main ''Airside Center'', ''Gates A, B and D'' with its mid-field ''Gates E'', passing underneath Runwa ...
aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
, a road tunnel and underground baggage conveyors were necessary for its development. Also part of the fifth stage was the construction of the new passenger hub "Airside Center". The Cantonal Council approved the project at the end of February 1995. It cleared the last hurdle in the referendum of 25 June 1995, when it was approved by 224,668 votes to 105,859 (68.0% Yes). After almost nine years of construction, the project was completed in 2004.


"Zürich 2010" project

The next major event for the airport was in 1999, when the Parliament of the canton of Zürich approved privatization of Zurich Airport. The following year, Flughafen Zürich AG, trading under the brand ''Unique'', became the new airport operator. The company dropped the brand ''Unique'' in favour of ''Zurich Airport'' and ''Flughafen Zürich'' in 2010. On 2 October 2001, a major cash-flow crisis at
Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
, exacerbated by the global downturn in air travel caused by the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, caused the airline to ground all its flights. Although a government rescue plan permitted some flights to restart a few days later, and the airline's assets were subsequently sold to become
Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
, the airport lost a large volume of traffic. After
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
took control of Swiss International Air Lines in 2005, traffic began to grow again. On 18 October 2001, Germany and Switzerland signed a treaty regarding the limitation of flights over Germany. Under the terms of this treaty, any incoming aircraft after 22:00 had to approach Zürich from the east to land on runway 28, which, unlike the airport's other runways, was not equipped with an
instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
. A month later, at 22:06 on 24 November, an inbound
Crossair Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport (german: Crossair AG für europäischen Regionalluftverkehr) was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, ne ...
Avro RJ100 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...
using this approach in conditions of poor visibility crashed into a range of hills near
Bassersdorf Bassersdorf (High Alemannic: ''Baserschtoorff'') is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Zürich, located in the district of Bülach, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). History The name, mentioned in 1155 as ''Bazzelstorf' ...
and exploded, killing 24 of the 33 people on board. The flight had originally been scheduled to land on runway 14 before 22:00, but it was subject to delay and was therefore diverted to runway 28. Zurich Airport completed a major expansion project in 2003, in which it built a new parking garage, a new midfield terminal, and an automated underground
people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
to link the midfield terminal to the main terminal. In November 2008 a complete renovation and rebuild of the old terminal B structure was announced. The new terminal B opened in November 2011, and provides segregated access to and from aircraft for
Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
and non-Schengen passengers. Zurich Airport handled 25.5 million passengers in 2014, up 2.5 percent from 2013. Etihad Regional ceased on 18 February 2015 to fly two-thirds of its scheduled routes without further notice, amongst them all its services from Zürich except the domestic service to
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. Etihad Regional blamed the failure of its expansion on the behavior of competitors, especially
Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
, as well as the Swiss aviation authorities. Following the demolition of some office buildings the construction of the new baggage sorting facilities between the Operations Center and Terminal 1 began in spring 2018 with a total investment of CHF 500 million. As of 2020, the marketing of all advertising space at the airport was transferred from Clear Channel to APG. The main Terminal 1 will be completely rebuilt - including the tower of the
Skyguide Skyguide (Swiss Air Navigation Services Ltd.) is an air navigation service provider which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. The company, which was formerly known as Swisscontrol, changed its name to skyguide (officially written lower-case) i ...
Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021, with completion expected in 2030. In addition to the old building fabric, the expected growth in passenger numbers is the main reason for the pending construction work. "The forecasts suggest that the number of passengers arriving, departing or transferring at Zurich Airport each year today will grow from 29 million today to 50 million by 2030," says the airport operator's personnel booklet.


Corporate affairs

The airport is owned by
Flughafen Zürich AG Flughafen Zürich AG (FZAG), based in Kloten, Switzerland, is the owner and operator of Zurich Airport. It owns, co-owns and runs airports in India, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Curaçao. The mixed-economy stock company was established in April 20 ...
, a company quoted on the
SIX Swiss Exchange SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other security (finance), securities such as Swiss government bonds and d ...
. Major shareholders include the
canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
, with 33.33% plus one of the shares, and the
city of Zürich A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, with 5% of the shares. No other shareholder has a holding exceeding 3%. Flughafen Zürich AG used the brand name ''Unique'' from 2000 until 2010. The company has stakes in various other airports around the world.


Infrastructure


Terminal complex

The airport has three airside piers, which are known as terminals ''A, B'', and ''E'' (also signposted as ''Gates A, B/D'', and ''E''). These are linked to a central air-side building called ''Airside Center'', built in 2003. Alongside the ''Airside Center'', the ground-side terminal complex named ''Airport Center'' comprises several buildings, and includes airline check-in areas, a shopping mall, a railway station, car parks, and a bus and tram terminal. All departing passengers access the same departure level of the ''Airside Center'', which includes duty-free shopping and various bars and restaurants, via airport security. They are then segregated between passengers for Schengen and non-Schengen destinations on the way to the gate lounges, with the latter first passing through emigration controls. Arriving Schengen and non-Schengen passengers are handled in separate areas of the ''Airside Center'' and reach it by different routes, with non-Schengen passengers first passing through immigration controls. The three airside terminals are:


Terminal A

Terminal A contains gates prefixed A. It opened in 1971, and it is used exclusively by flights to and from destinations inside the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
, including domestic flights within Switzerland. Since its expansion in 1982–1985, it takes the form of a finger pier, directly connected at one end to the ''Airside Centre''. Terminal A was scheduled to be torn down and replaced by an entirely new facility from 2021. However in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
the start of the project has been postponed for at least three years.


Terminal B

Terminal B contains gates prefixed B and D. It opened in 1975 and reopened in November 2011 after an extensive three-year reconstruction. Like terminal A, it takes the form of a finger pier directly connected at one end to the ''Airside Centre''. Since reconstruction, it can accommodate both Schengen and non-Schengen flights at the same gates. Each gate has two numbers, one prefixed B and the other D, but with different passenger routes to and from the gates to separate the flows of Schengen and non-Schengen passengers.


Terminal E

Terminal E contains gates prefixed E, and is also known as the midfield terminal or Dock E. It is a stand-alone satellite terminal located on the opposite side of runway 10/28 from the ''Airside Center'', and is situated between runways 16/34 and 14/32. It is entirely used by non-Schengen international flights and became operational and was opened on September 1, 2003. It is connected to the ''Airside Center'' by the
Skymetro The Zurich Airport Skymetro is an underground airport people mover at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The long system connects the airport's main ''Airside Center'', ''Gates A, B and D'' with its mid-field ''Gates E'', passing underneath Runwa ...
, an automated underground
people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
.


Runways

Zurich Airport has three runways: 16/34 of in length, 14/32 of in length, and 10/28 of in length. For most of the day and in most conditions, runway 14 is used for landings and runways 16 and 28 are used for takeoffs, although different patterns are used early morning and in the evenings.


Airlines and destinations


Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Zurich Airport:


Cargo


Statistics


Busiest routes


Top airlines


Passenger development


Ground transportation


Train

Zürich Flughafen railway station is located underneath the ''Airport Centre''. The station has frequent
Zürich S-Bahn The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
services, plus direct InterRegio,
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
, and
Eurocity EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
services, to many places including
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
,
Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Swi ...
,
Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
,
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
,
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Romanshorn Romanshorn is a municipality in the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first mentioned in 779 as ''Rumanishorn'' in a land grant from Waldrata to the Abbe ...
,
St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...
, and
Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
. There are some 13 trains per hour to
Zürich HB , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () ...
(Hauptbahnhof), Zürich's main city centre station, with a journey time of between 9 and 13 minutes. By changing trains there, most other places in Switzerland can be reached in a few hours.


Bus and tram

In front of the ''Airport Centre'' is the airport stop of the
Stadtbahn Glattal The Glattalbahn, originally known as the Stadtbahn Glattal, was a project that was ultimately successful in introducing a modern rapid-transit system to the Glattal area of Switzerland, to the north of the city of Zürich. Stadtbahn Glattal w ...
, a light rail system that interworks with the Zürich tram system, together with a regional bus station. Both the bus station and light rail stop provide service to destinations throughout the Glattal region that surrounds the airport, with the light rail stop being served by tram routes 10 and 12. Tram route 10 also provides a link to
Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland a ...
, albeit with a rather longer journey time than that of the railway.


Road

The airport is served by the A51 motorway and other main roads, which link to the airport's own road network. Drop-off areas are available by the ''Airport Centre'' whilst a total of over 14000 spaces are available in six car parks for short and long term parking. A car hire centre is located in the terminal complex. The airport is served by a fleet of dedicated airport taxis, which operate from taxi ranks in front of the arrival areas. Alternative chauffeur driven airport limousines can be arranged. The airport can legally be reached by bicycle on a regional highway (Flughafenstrasse and Birchstrasse) that branches off national highway 4 (Schaffhausen - Bülach - Zürich - Luzern) just east of the airport and reaches Northwestern Zürich.


Other facilities


The Circle

The Circle, a complex intended to include a medical center, a conference center, shops, restaurants, offices, and hotels, is under construction opposite the ''Airport Centre''. In February 2009, Flughafen Zürich AG (FZAG) launched a three-stage architectural competition for "The Circle at Zurich Airport" development. Around 180,000 square meters of usable space for services were to be built close to the terminals on a 37,000 square meter site. Two hotels and the congress area will occupy around 45,000 square meters, which will be operated by the
Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...
Corporation. At the end of October 2011, FZAG submitted the building application to the town of Kloten, which granted the building permit on 6 March 2012. The
groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
ceremony for the superstructure, scheduled for the end of 2013, was postponed until the beginning of 2015. The Circle" is expected to create around 5,000 new jobs, with an investment volume of around CHF 1 billion. The foundation
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
was laid on 24 March 2017 and the opening is expected to take place in the first half of 2020; however, even then not all six parts of the building will be ready. In the meantime, it has been announced that the opening will take place in September 2020.


Company headquarters

Several companies have their headquarters on or about the airport. These include
Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
, Swiss World Cargo,
Swiss AviationTraining Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Genev ...
,
Edelweiss Air Edelweiss Air AG is a Swiss leisure airline, charter airline and the sister company of Swiss International Air Lines. It operates flights to European and intercontinental destinations from its base at Zürich Airport. History The airline w ...
,
gategroup Gategroup is a Swiss company providing services to the travel industry, including catering, onboard retail, food service provisioning, and food logistics. It serves as the parent company for four core brands, and is a supplier to many major ai ...
,
Helvetic Airways Helvetic Airways (Previously Odette Airways) is a Swiss regional airline headquartered in Kloten with its fleet stationed at Zurich Airport. It operates flights to destinations in Europe and Northern Africa, mainly leisure markets, on its own beh ...
,
Swissôtel Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, commonly known as Swissôtel, is a Swiss chain of luxury hotels which operates 37 properties in 17 countries. The chain is owned by Accor, which acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2015. The corporate offices for Swiss ...
, and
Rega The Rega is a river in north-western Poland, flowing into the Baltic Sea. It is the country's 24th longest river, with a total length of 188 km and a catchment area of 2,767 km2.Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
and
Crossair Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport (german: Crossair AG für europäischen Regionalluftverkehr) was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, ne ...
.


Safety and environment


Airport fire department

The airport fire brigade is responsible for fire-fighting at Zurich Airport and is on standby around the clock. In the event of an emergency, the brigade must be able to reach any location on the airport grounds, an area of 880 hectares, in no more than three minutes in accordance with international standards. Their vehicles have extremely powerful engines and large-capacity tanks. The fire service also includes an operations control centre. This not only coordinates the airport's rescue services, but also alerts the fire brigades in the northern part of the canton. A total of 77 fire brigades are deployed from the Operations Control Centre, including 2 professional and 13 base fire brigades. Likewise, the rescue service Schutz und Rettung Zürich Nord, the rescue service Spital Bülach, the rescue service
Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
and since April 1, 2008, the rescue service of the
canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffouse (german: Kanton Schaffhausen; rm, Chantun Schaffusa; french: Canton de Schaffhouse; it, Canton Sciaffusa) is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the c ...
are also dispatched. Other tasks of the Operations Control Centre include alerting a large animal rescue service, a personal emergency call and location system and the coordination of the emergency medical service for several municipalities. In addition, 3800 fire alarm criteria are accumulated in the operations control centre. Every year, the operations control centre receives about 150,000 telephone calls. Until 31 December 2007, the airport fire brigade was officially called the ''Berufsfeuerwehr Flughafen Zürich'' (Professional Fire Brigade), and it was constituted as the company fire brigade of Flughafen Zürich AG. On 1 January 2008, the airport fire brigade, together with the rescue service and the operations control centre, was for organizational reasons transferred to the ''Schutz und Rettung'' (Protection and Rescue) department of the
city of Zürich A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. The airport fire brigade records more than 1000 operations per year. In 2004, 260 of these involved incidents involving aircraft, including emergency or safety landings.


Refuelling dispenser, Ramp Safety, Airport Authority and Follow Me

Vehicles that not only cross taxiways and runways reserved for aircraft on the designated roads, but also use them for business purposes, must be equipped with a transponder and radio and can thus be tracked on tracking websites (e.g. Flightradar24). The transponder sign or radio name for the Follow-Me vehicles is Zebra. In 2014, five companies were licensed for aircraft refuelling at the airport, operating 16 tankers and 28 dispensers.


Rescue service Zurich Airport

The rescue service at Zurich Airport was established around 1982 as the original "
fire-fighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typicall ...
ambulance". Its primary purpose was to protect fire-fighting personnel during fire-fighting operations, and secondarily to provide
medical care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profess ...
for injured passengers. It was quickly recognised that there was also a steadily growing need for rescue services for the population outside the airport, and often neighbouring hospitals that were able to provide this service could not cope due to capacity bottlenecks, or the corresponding structures were not available in the
Zürcher Unterland The ''Zürcher Unterland'' ("Zurich lowlands") comprises the northwestern part of the canton of Zurich, including the districts of Bülach and Dielsdorf. Geographically, it is located in the Swiss plateau, between the Limmat valley, the city of ...
at the time. When the airport was privatized in 2000 to form the public limited company Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG), the rescue service was then separated from the fire service as a separate division within the Safety&Security department. In the last year of its existence in 2007, the Rescue Service at Zurich Airport carried out around 5800 missions with 36 paramedics and three trainees. The majority of the operations were carried out in the region around the airport, which at that time comprised 28 contractual communities. There were three ambulances on standby during the day and two ambulances at night, which was carried out in two shifts of twelve hours each. The teams were on duty four times a day (twice a day and twice at night). As a novelty, Zurich Airport Emergency Medical Services consistently applied the amended labor law, i.e. it was one of the few employers to fully credit the working time of twelve hours without deductions ("attendance time"/effective working time). There was no permanently installed emergency medical system at the airport site. The paramedics are equipped with extended skills that allow the administration of medication according to algorithms. As part of a quality control of the measures carried out, all operations were checked by the Medical Director. At the same time, an annual review of medication and
algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
ic knowledge took place. Only after passing the written and practical test was the paramedic authorized to administer medication for another year. If an emergency physician was needed, the resources of the partner organisations
REGA The Rega is a river in north-western Poland, flowing into the Baltic Sea. It is the country's 24th longest river, with a total length of 188 km and a catchment area of 2,767 km2.city of Zürich A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
for an amount of CHF 22 million. This was also due to the needs of the city of Zürich, as its professional fire brigade in particular had problems meeting the required arrival times with long journeys to the north of the city of Zürich. At the same time, it was possible to avoid the cost-intensive construction of a new base for rescue services and fire brigades in the rapidly growing north. A comprehensive contract was drawn up for the takeover of the entire department, which will be reassessed after ten years. The outsourcing resulted in massive internal restructuring, which replaced the previous organisational form. Since January 1, 2008, the base at the airport has been known as the "Wache Nord". With a strong positive operating result in 2007 and a reduced staffing level as of January 1, 2008, the catchment area of the rescue service expanded to include the northern districts of Zürich
Schwamendingen Schwamendingen is a district in the Swiss city of Zürich. Formerly an independent community, it was incorporated into Zurich in 1934 to build district number 12. The district comprises the quarters Schwamendingen Mitte, Saatlen and Hirzenbac ...
, Seebach and Oerlikon.


Accidents and incidents

* On November 24, 1951, a
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
of the Israeli
El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
(
aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by Chicago Convention, international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and ...
4X-ADN) on a cargo flight from Rome with textiles on board crashed into a forest three kilometers northeast of Zurich Airport shortly before landing. Six of the seven crew members were killed. * On 24 November 1956, an
Ilyushin Il-12 The Ilyushin Il-12 (NATO reporting name: Coach) was a Soviet twin-engine cargo aircraft, developed in the mid-1940s for small and medium-haul airline routes and as a military transport. Design and development The Il-12 was developed as a priva ...
B of the Czechoslovak airline ČSA (OK-DBP) crashed into an agricultural area 13 kilometres after take-off from Zürich-Kloten airport, only 500 metres from the southern outskirts of
Wasterkingen Wasterkingen is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History In 2002, Wasterkingen had his 900th birthday, the ''Wasterkingener'' celebrated a big party and there were a lot of interesting attractio ...
, probably due to engine problems. All 23 passengers and crew members died there. * On 4 September 1963,
Swissair Flight 306 Swissair Flight 306, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III, named ''Schaffhausen,'' was a scheduled international flight from Zürich to Rome, via Geneva. It crashed near Dürrenäsch, Aargau, on 4 September 1963, shortly after take-off, killing ...
experienced an in-flight fire shortly after take-off and crashed, killing all 80 people on board. * On 18 February 1969, four armed members of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...
attacked
El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
flight 432 whilst it prepared for takeoff. The aircraft's security guard repelled the attack, resulting in the death of one of the terrorists, whilst the
Boeing 720 The Boeing 720 is an American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate was ...
's co-pilot subsequently died of his injuries. * On 21 February 1970, a barometrically triggered bomb exploded on Swissair Flight 330 some nine minutes after takeoff from Zurich en route to
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. All 47 occupants were killed. The bombing was attributed to the PFLP-GC. * On 18 January 1971, an inbound
Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Balkan Bulgarian Airlines ( bg, Балкан) was Bulgaria's government-owned flag carrier airline between 1947 and 2002. During the 1970s, the airline became a significant European carrier. The company encountered financial instability followi ...
Il-18D approached Zurich Airport in fog below the
glideslope Instrument landing system glide path, commonly referred to as a glide path (G/P) or glide slope (G/S), is "a system of vertical guidance embodied in the instrument landing system which indicates the vertical deviation of the aircraft from its o ...
. It crashed and burst into flames, north of the airport, when both left wingtip and
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
contacted the ground. Seven crew members and 38 passengers were killed. * On 24 November 1990, an
Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana Società per azioni, S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of ...
Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...
operating Flight 404 crashed on approach to Zurich, killing all 46 passengers and crew on board. * On 10 January 2000, a
Crossair Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport (german: Crossair AG für europäischen Regionalluftverkehr) was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, ne ...
Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...
operating Flight 498 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 10 occupants. The cause of the crash was determined to have been the result of spatial disorientation and pilot errors. * On 24 November 2001, a
Crossair Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport (german: Crossair AG für europäischen Regionalluftverkehr) was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, ne ...
Avro RJ100 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...
operating Flight 3597 crashed into hills near
Bassersdorf Bassersdorf (High Alemannic: ''Baserschtoorff'') is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Zürich, located in the district of Bülach, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). History The name, mentioned in 1155 as ''Bazzelstorf' ...
while on approach to Zurich. Twenty-four of the 33 people on board were killed. * On 15 March 2011, two Swiss A320s received almost simultaneous take-off clearance on the intersecting runways 16 and 28. In response to this serious incident, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation commissioned a comprehensive analysis of the operating procedures. * On 27 September 2013 the nose landing gear of a De Havilland DHC-8-400 of
Croatia Airlines Croatia Airlines Ltd. is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Croatia. Its headquarters are in Buzin near Zagreb and operates domestic and international services mainly to European destinations. Its main hub is Zagreb International Airport wi ...
could not be extended. The aircraft had taken off in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and was scheduled to land in Zurich. During the landing approach to Zurich Airport the pilots noticed that the nose gear of the aircraft was not extended. They tried for 40 minutes to extend the landing gear completely, but failed. The pilots decided to make an emergency landing in Zurich on runway 14, and none of the 60 passengers were injured in the subsequent landing at 8:17 pm. Runway 14 was then closed until the end of operations. After 15 minutes, air traffic on the two other runways could be resumed as usual.


See also

*
Transport in Switzerland Switzerland has a dense network of roads and railways. The Swiss public transport network has a total length of 24,500 kilometers and has more than 2600 stations and stops. The crossing of the Alps is an important route for European transpo ...


References


Notes


External links


Official website

Ski Taxi & Airport Transfers
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurich Airport Airports in Switzerland Airports established in 1948 Buildings and structures in the canton of Zürich Kloten Transport in the canton of Zürich 1948 establishments in Switzerland