Sion airport in the Rhone valley between two ranges of the Alps has just won top-level safety status putting it on the same level as major international hubs.
This content was published on
1 minute
It was the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that took the decision, bringing Sion airport up to the level of Zurich, Geneva, Bern and St Gallen’s Altenrhein.
“This is important for us, as it will make it easier to attract new traffic to Sion,” airport deputy director Patricia Fellay said.
All five airports now hold an ICAO safety seal, which is given for top-class snow-clearing, plane defrosting, fire control and refuelling capacities.
Sion airport, which can take planes carrying up to 120 passengers, is a gateway to major alpine centres like Zermatt, Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee and Verbier.
It currently handles just under 30,000 passengers a year.
Planes range from medium-range business jets to small aircraft to helicopters and single-seater private planes.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Passenger wait goes on as flights resume
This content was published on
The first plane took off from Zurich just after 8am to ease five days of travel chaos but only a handful of flights have managed to get airborne. The airport said it would take several days for services to return to normal. For many passengers who flocked to Switzerland’s busiest airport in the hope of…
This content was published on
The first plane took off from Zurich just after 8am, but only a handful of planes has since taken off and the airport said it would still take several days for services to return to normal. The Federal Civil Aviation Office announced its decision after the positive results of four test flights and research carried…
This content was published on
Zurich airport wants to be the venue for a new casino and this month chose a Japanese architect to construct an ambitious SFr1 billion ($930 million) 200,000-square-metre hotel, office and business complex. The airport’s operator, Unique, believes the proposed new attractions would add value both for passengers and other users and generate more revenues. “Airports…
This content was published on
Swissair was the former national airline of Switzerland, created in 1931. For nearly 71 years, it was known as the “Flying Bank” due to the financial stability of the airline. But a failed expansion strategy and the economic turndown led to the grounding of the airline in October 2001. It was kept alive until March…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.