Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

The ground handling services provider Swissport, which operates at Basel, Geneva and Zurich airports, has significantly expanded its workforce to cope with the large numbers of travellers expected this summer. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland's main airports are preparing for a busy summer holiday period. A number of changes have been introduced to improve passenger flows that are expected to be well above average in July and August.

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The ground handling services provider Swissport, which operates at Basel, Geneva and Zurich airports, has significantly expanded its workforce. “Between January and June, around 500 people were recruited by Swissport Switzerland,” a spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency, including 320 for Zurich, 100 for Basel and 80 for Geneva. Training has also been stepped up.

In Geneva, “45,000 passengers per day (arrivals and departures combined, for Swissport operations only) are expected, which represents a slight drop of 2-3% compared to summer 2024, in line with the trend observed on flights”, the spokesperson said.

The forecasts provided by the airport indicate that passenger numbers will remain stable compared to summer 2024, at around 1.68 million passengers in July and 1.65 million in August. The busiest days are expected to be Sundays 27 July and 3 August and Friday 1 August, according to a Geneva Airport spokesperson.

Zurich Airport will also be very busy. “We are preparing to carry more than 43,000 passengers a day on peak days (…). The flights have very high load factors, with a large volume of baggage, including special equipment, and a high proportion of families,” said the Swissport spokesperson. Swissport will be employing more than 1,100 people a day at Switzerland’s largest airport, with additional staff on weekends.

“On weekends, we are expecting more than 100,000 passengers a day until the end of August (…). The peak in passenger numbers is expected on 19 and 20 July when the first travellers return from their holidays while others are on their way out,” said a Zurich Airport spokesperson. “While passenger numbers are currently at pre-pandemic levels, the number of air movements is still lower.”

“In Basel, we are forecasting an increase in passenger numbers of between 2-3% on the previous year. Staffing levels have been increased and equipment specifically adapted to ensure that operations run smoothly during busy periods,” said the Swissport spokesperson.

New destinations

The high volume of traffic increases the risk of flight delays and cancellations, prompting airports to take action. In addition to extra staff, Zurich Airport, for example, is using a camera system to identify delays in aircraft preparation at an early stage, as well as a planning system to optimise operations.

In Geneva, particular attention is being paid to morning flights, to minimise the domino effect of delays. Since June 23, check-in is possible from 4am. “This measure aims to allow the first passengers to drop off their baggage and/or pass through security controls earlier, in order to fluidify the processing of the first flights of the day,” explains a spokesperson. In addition, equipment to check in baggage independently has been installed and is producing “very good results in terms of flow”, the spokesperson adds.

A total of 206 destinations are served from Zurich Airport by 63 airlines, six more destinations than in summer 2024. This summer, the destinations with the highest passenger numbers are Berlin, Pristina, Porto, Dublin, Prague, Naples, Alicante and Palermo.

From Geneva, flights will take off to 125 destinations operated by 48 airlines. Easyjet is a major player at Geneva Airport, operating more than 80 routes. Services to China have been significantly expanded, with four flights a week to Shanghai operated by China Eastern and six to Beijing operated by Air China.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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