Notes to the consolidated financial statements

General remarks

The operating licence awarded by the Federal Government authorises and obliges the airport operator, Flughafen Zürich AG, to operate Zurich Airport until 2051. In addition to combining transport services by road, rail and air, Flughafen Zürich AG also operates Zurich Airport as a shopping, entertainment and services centre.

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and comply with Swiss law. They have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of the financial assets of the Airport of Zurich Noise Fund, derivative financial instruments, associates and defined benefit obligations.

The single-entity financial statements of the groupʼs subsidiaries, which have been prepared in accordance with uniform accounting policies, have been used as the basis for consolidation. The reporting date for all subsidiaries is 31 December.

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with IFRSs requires the Management Board to make estimates and assumptions, as well as exercise its discretion, when applying the accounting policies. This may affect reported income, expenses, assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities at the time of preparation of the financial statements. In the event that such estimates and assumptions made in good faith by the Management Board at the time of preparation of the financial statements subsequently deviate from the actual circumstances, the estimates and assumptions originally made are adjusted prospectively in the financial year in which the circumstances changed.

Judgements made by the Management Board in its application of IFRSs that have a significant effect on the consolidated financial statements, and estimates and assumptions with a significant risk of adjustment in the following financial year, are discussed in “II. Judgements and significant estimates and assumptions in the application of accounting policies” and in the following notes in Notes to the consolidated financial statements: