Zürich International Airport
Encyclopedia
Zurich Airport also called Kloten Airport, is located in the canton of Zurich
, Switzerland
, and managed by Flughafen Zürich AG. It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines
. It is partially in Kloten
, Rümlang
, Oberglatt
, Winkel
and Opfikon
. Skyguide
is responsible for all Air Traffic Control for Zurich.
The airport is currently ranked as a 4-star by Skytrax
along with 8 other airports around the world.
In November 2008, Unique Company announced a complete renovation and rebuild of the old fingerdock 'B' structure. The visitor terrace will be temporarily closed during construction, but airport officials announced that a terrace will be included in the new structure.
Terminal building "E" is connected to the main terminal building by an underground short ride on the Skymetro
. During the ride endearing sounds of the Swiss Alps
can be heard.
has an office on the property of Zurich Airport and in Kloten
, consisting of the Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie buildings. Swiss World Cargo has its head office in the Alpha and Bravo buildings. Swiss Private Aviation
has its head office in the Swiss complex. Swiss European Air Lines
and Swiss AviationTraining, subsidiaries of Swiss, are also headquartered on the airport property.
Edelweiss Air
has its head office in the Edelweiss Air
Operations Center (OTC) on the airport grounds. gategroup has its head office on the airport property. Helvetic Airways
has its head office on the grounds of the airport in Kloten.
When Swissair
existed, its head office was at Zurich Airport and in Kloten. The head office was in proximity to the main airport facilities. In 1985 Crossair
was headquartered in Kloten.
shut down its operations. Since Lufthansa
took over its successor Swiss International Air Lines
(SWISS), traffic has started growing again. There are three runways on in operation and runway 14/32 is a unidirectional runway as it sits to the far north outskirts of the field.
Zurich Airport handled 22.9 million passengers in 2010.
is located underneath the terminal. There are trains to many parts of Switzerland; frequent S-Bahn Zürich services on the lines S2
and S16
and of the Glattalbahn
(Zurich tram
lines 10 and 12), plus direct InterRegio
and InterCity
services to Winterthur
, Bern, Basel
, Brig
, St. Gallen
, Lucerne
(German: Luzern) and Konstanz
in Germany. It also has EuroCity
services to Munich
in Germany. By changing trains at Zürich Hauptbahnhof most other places in Switzerland can be reached in a few hours.
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and managed by Flughafen Zürich AG. It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...
. It is partially in Kloten
Kloten
-External links:* -References:...
, Rümlang
Rümlang
Rümlang is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley . Zürich Airport is partially located in Rümlang.-Geography:...
, Oberglatt
Oberglatt
Oberglatt is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley . Zürich Airport is partially in Oberglatt.-Geography:...
, Winkel
Winkel, Switzerland
Winkel is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Winkel has an area of . Of this area, 45.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.5% is forested...
and Opfikon
Opfikon
Opfikon is the name of a municipality in the Swiss canton of Zurich, located in the district of Bülach.-Coat of arms:Blazon: Party per fess gules and argent, in chief a half length portrait of a man wearing a coat sable with a white collar, in base cross pattee sable.-Geography:Opfikon is situated...
. Skyguide
Skyguide
skyguide is the air navigation services company that controls Swiss airspace....
is responsible for all Air Traffic Control for Zurich.
The airport is currently ranked as a 4-star by Skytrax
Skytrax
Skytrax is a United Kingdom-based consultancy, the public face of Inflight Research Services, which has the largest airline and airport review and ranking site. It conducts research for commercial airlines...
along with 8 other airports around the world.
Structure
In 2003, Zurich Airport completed a major expansion project in which it built a new parking garage, a new midfield terminal, and an automated underground train to move passengers between the existing terminal complex and the new terminal.In November 2008, Unique Company announced a complete renovation and rebuild of the old fingerdock 'B' structure. The visitor terrace will be temporarily closed during construction, but airport officials announced that a terrace will be included in the new structure.
Terminal building "E" is connected to the main terminal building by an underground short ride on the Skymetro
Skymetro
Skymetro is an airport people mover at Zurich International Airport in Switzerland which opened in 2003.The 1.1-kilometre long system connects the airport's main Airside Center with Terminal E, taking just under three minutes to travel in each direction. Rather than on-board motors, it is...
. During the ride endearing sounds of the Swiss Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
can be heard.
Airlines and destinations
Other facilities
Swiss International Air LinesSwiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...
has an office on the property of Zurich Airport and in Kloten
Kloten
-External links:* -References:...
, consisting of the Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie buildings. Swiss World Cargo has its head office in the Alpha and Bravo buildings. Swiss Private Aviation
Swiss Private Aviation
Swiss Private Aviation AG is a fully owned subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines providing executive jet services as well as aircraft management and commercial charter services on behalf of its parent company. Swiss Private is also the new platform for operation of the Lufthansa Private Jet...
has its head office in the Swiss complex. Swiss European Air Lines
Swiss European Air Lines
Swiss European Air Lines is a subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, operating as the latter on some of its short haul routes. Swiss International Air Lines, also known as SWISS, is the successor of Swissair, following that company's grounding in 2001. Like its parent, Swiss European is part...
and Swiss AviationTraining, subsidiaries of Swiss, are also headquartered on the airport property.
Edelweiss Air
Edelweiss Air
Edelweiss Air AG is a charter airline with its head office in the Edwelweiss Air Operations Center on the property of Zurich Airport and in Kloten, Switzerland, operating mainly out of Zurich Airport, with a smaller base at Geneva International Airport...
has its head office in the Edelweiss Air
Edelweiss Air
Edelweiss Air AG is a charter airline with its head office in the Edwelweiss Air Operations Center on the property of Zurich Airport and in Kloten, Switzerland, operating mainly out of Zurich Airport, with a smaller base at Geneva International Airport...
Operations Center (OTC) on the airport grounds. gategroup has its head office on the airport property. Helvetic Airways
Helvetic Airways
Helvetic Airways is an airline based at Zürich Airport in Kloten, Switzerland. It operates flights to destinations in Europe, mainly leisure markets, but also to business destinations. Its main base is Zürich Airport...
has its head office on the grounds of the airport in Kloten.
When Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
existed, its head office was at Zurich Airport and in Kloten. The head office was in proximity to the main airport facilities. In 1985 Crossair
Crossair
Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, near Basel, Switzerland...
was headquartered in Kloten.
Traffic
The airport lost a lot of traffic when SwissairSwissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
shut down its operations. Since Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
took over its successor Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...
(SWISS), traffic has started growing again. There are three runways on in operation and runway 14/32 is a unidirectional runway as it sits to the far north outskirts of the field.
Zurich Airport handled 22.9 million passengers in 2010.
Connectivity
Zurich Airport railway stationZürich Airport railway station
Zurich Airport railway station is a railway station located underneath Check In 3, inside the terminal of Zurich Airport , in Kloten, Zurich, Switzerland....
is located underneath the terminal. There are trains to many parts of Switzerland; frequent S-Bahn Zürich services on the lines S2
S2 (ZVV)
The S2 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund , Zürich transportation network, and is one of the network's lines connecting the cantons of Zürich with Schwyz, Glarus and St...
and S16
S16 (ZVV)
The S16 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund , Zürich transportation network, and is one of the network's lines connecting the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen.- Route :...
and of the Glattalbahn
Stadtbahn Glattal
Stadtbahn Glattal is a project to introduce a modern rapid-transit system to the Glattal area to the North of the city of Zürich in Switzerland. Stadtbahn Glattal is being developed as a metre gauge tram system with through running to that of neighbouring Zürich...
(Zurich tram
Zürich trams
Trams make an important contribution to public transport in the city of Zurich in Switzerland. The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city, albeit supplemented by the inner sections of the Zurich S-Bahn, along with urban trolleybus and...
lines 10 and 12), plus direct InterRegio
InterRegio
The InterRegio is a train service seen in some European countries. Mostly they are trains that run "from region to region", as best described by Swiss Federal Railways.-Switzerland:...
and InterCity
InterCity
InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
services to Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
, Bern, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Brig
Brig, Switzerland
Brig, officially Brig-Glis is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.The current municipality was formed in 1972 through the merger of Brig , Brigerbad and Glis.-History:...
, St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
, Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
(German: Luzern) and Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
in Germany. It also has EuroCity
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...
services to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in Germany. By changing trains at Zürich Hauptbahnhof most other places in Switzerland can be reached in a few hours.
External links
- Zurich Airport (Official Site)
- Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG) — airport operators