The Busiest Airports In Switzerland

Airports Of Switzerland

Switzerland is conveniently located in the middle of Europe, making some of its airports in the country popular launching points for people looking to travel within Europe. The country does not have many major airports but the few it does have tend to be packed with travelers all year round. Switzerland has seven major airports that serve both domestic and international flights to and from the country. The busiest airports are located in Zurich, Geneva, and Basel. Over 50 million travelers arrive in the country every year of which more than half of the passengers served by Zurich Airport.

The Busiest Swiss Airports

1. Zurich Airport

Zurich Airport is the largest international and busiest airport of Switzerland. The airport is also known as Kloten and is a principle hub for the Swiss International Air Line. The airport serves the city of Zurich and links with the rest of the country. Zurich airport is located 8 miles north of the city of Zurich within the municipality of Kloten, Rumlang, Winkel, and Opfikon. The airport is owned by Flughafen Zurich AG. Zurich Airport has three terminals named A, B, and E linked to a central air-side building known as Airside Center. The airport was designed in 1945 with the first flight departing the airport in 1947. Currently, the airport offers scheduled flights to about 195 destinations in 62 countries around the world with over 31 million passengers using the airport in 2018.

2. Geneva Airport

Geneva Airport is an international airport located about 2.5 miles northwest of the city Geneva. The airport served about 17 million people in 2018, the highest number in the history of the airport. It serves as a hub for Swiss International Air Lines and Etihad Regional. Geneva’s flight network includes European metropolitan and leisure destinations as well as other routes to North America and the Middle East. The airport was established in 1919 as a simple field in Cointrin with the first concrete runway constructed in 1937. Currently, the airport has two passenger terminals, T1 and T2, with T1 featuring the majority of flights. Because of the increasing number of passengers using the airport, the management has proposed to increase the airport capacity to 25 million a year by 2030.

3. Basel Airport

Basel Airport, officially known as EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, is located 2.2 miles northwest of Basel, 12 miles southwest of Mulhouse in France, and 29 miles southwest of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. The airport is located within the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis in France, near the Swiss-Germany border. Basel Airport is a base for the easy jet Switzerland and Belair. The plan for a construction of a joint airport by the Swiss and France began in the 1930s but was interrupted by the Second World War. The construction of the airport began in 1946 with the first runway opened in May 1946. Basel Airport is one of the few airports operated jointly by two countries. It is governed by the 1949 international convention. It consists of a single terminal building. Most of the airport’s busiest routes are mainly the major European cities with Berlin as the busiest route. The airport served over 8.5 million passengers in 2018.