According to the Federal Civil Aviation Office (FOCA), there were 410,000 flight movements (take offs and landings) in 2009. That is 21,000 fewer than in 2008.
However, the 2009 figure for scheduled and charter air traffic is significantly lower than the record high reached in 2000 when there were 538,000 movements. The bankruptcy of the national airline, Swissair, in 2001, was one reason for the decline in the following years.
FOCA also reported that the number of passengers travelling in and out of Swiss airports was down from nearly 38 million in 2008 to 37.2 million last year.
Around 97 per cent of all flight movements take place at Switzerland’s three biggest airports: Zurich, Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse. Zurich alone accounts for about half of all traffic.
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