Passenger numbers at Zurich airport rose in March despite Iran war

Zurich Airport with more passengers in March despite Iran war Keystone-SDA

Zurich Airport has continued its upward trajectory despite the war in Iran. Passenger numbers climbed again in March. The shops also made more turnover.

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In March, 2.47 million passengers travelled through Zurich Airport, according to a press release issued on Tuesday evening. This represents an increase of 4.9% compared to the same month last year.

However, the growth rate has slowed since the outbreak of war in the Middle East. In January (+6.8%) and February (+7.9%), passenger numbers rose more strongly than in March.

The growth is due to European flights. Some 1.88 million people flew through Zurich Airport for European travel. This was 9.3% more than a year ago.

Fewer passengers from the Middle East

In contrast, the number of intercontinental travellers fell by 6.9% to 584,441. After Iran attacked the major airports in the United Arab Emirates, these hubs temporarily ceased operations. Passengers from the Middle East accounted for just 1.3 % of travellers at Zurich Airport, down from 5.4% in the same month last year.

There was also a slight decline in travellers to North America. In contrast, there were more passengers travelling to Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The number of local passengers rose by 2.3% in February and that of transfer passengers by 10.6%. Meanwhile, the number of flight movements increased by 2.7% to 21,492. The seat occupancy rate rose by 2.1 percentage points to 77.2%.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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