Occupational and aviation safety

Protecting the physical integrity of all people and infrastructure at the airport is a cardinal duty. Systematic and innovative approaches to safety and security ensure they are protected.

Relevance

Protecting people and infrastructure from injury, damage, accidents or criminal acts is a top priority for the Zurich Airport Group. The aim therefore is to avoid incidents and accidents involving people or material objects. Efforts in this direction fall into the category of safety. As the licence holder for the airport, Flughafen Zürich AG is obliged to take precautions against wilful acts and must be ready to limit any resulting damage. Such matters fall into the category of security. The responsibility for both safety and security and implementing appropriate measures at Zurich Airport extends beyond the company to the airport as a whole. For matters relating to occupational health and safety on the other hand, Flughafen Zürich AG’s responsibility extends only to the company itself.

For its International division too, ensuring safety and security is one of Flughafen Zürich AG’s core responsibilities. However, owing to the specific terms of the concession models in the various countries, this may be handled organisationally in different ways at the airports. In Brazil, the airport operator is responsible for drafting and implementing safety and security concepts. These must be approved by various government agencies at different levels (security, customs and regulatory authorities). In Chile, on the other hand, all aspects of operational safety are a matter for the government, namely through the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC). The licence holder companies then have responsibility for safety solely in the publicly accessible passenger zones.

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All countries where the Zurich Airport Group operates belong to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and are contractually obliged to follow its safety and security standards and recommendations for commercial airports. The company is additionally obliged to comply with further statutory and regulatory requirements relating to safety, security and occupational health and safety.

Approach and progress

Overarching safety and security responsibilities

The company operates an integrated management system (IMS) for the systematic management of all safety and security aspects relating to flight operations at Zurich Airport. As well as safety and security, this also encompasses occupational health and safety. The aim of the integrated management system is firstly to reduce organisational risks by putting clear processes and organisational structures in place, and secondly to systematically improve prevention so that injuries and material damage are avoided from the outset.

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Ensuring safety and security at airports requires the collaboration of numerous people and companies. Various factors play a role, from construction requirements through to the organisation of processes and the behaviour of employees. With its supervision of flight and ramp operations, the company has two intervention units that steer daily operations at Zurich Airport. They make sure the airport is running smoothly in accordance with the regulations at all times and that it is able to respond to any incidents.

In addition, in the event of an incident, Flughafen Zürich AG has the primary responsibility for coordinating the various emergency responders. As well as drafting and updating emergency plans and operation concepts, it is also obliged to carry out regular wide-scale drills. Although the airport fire and rescue service is based on the airfield, it is actually part of the City of Zurich’s emergency services. Flughafen Zürich AG additionally operates a company fire brigade, as does its service partner SR Technics.

Safety

The IMS at Zurich Airport also includes a Safety Management System which provides a comprehensive and systematic way of managing risks and hazards in order to ensure safe and compliant flight operations. The aim is to prevent both personal injury and material damage. The key principles of the safety and reporting culture and the Safety Management System are anchored in the company’s safety policy, which also details the respective responsibilities. In addition, the aerodrome manual published annually by the Safety Office lists all safety-relevant management processes. This fulfils the requirements of EU Regulation 139/2014.

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Cooperation of all the parties involved, namely the airport partner companies, is essential. These meet in various committees. By training, followed by examinations in some cases, the company ensures that all personnel with access to the airside operating areas of Zurich Airport are adequately trained. In addition, it periodically runs awareness campaigns to spotlight individual aspects. Another important point is how incidents and infringements are handled. At Zurich Airport, importance is attached to cultivating a culture in which critical or potentially critical incidents are reported. The aim here is to identify what improvements could be made and put them into practice.

One specific initiative launched by the airports in Brazil is awareness-raising among the residents of neighbouring communities. Information campaigns highlight the dangers of laser pointers or sport kites as potential hazards to aircraft. Florianópolis, Macaé and Vitória are the first airports in Brazil to deploy drones to check the condition of runways, fences and other parts of the infrastructure.

Both the authorities and Flughafen Zürich AG itself regularly conduct inspections and airport operation audits to verify that rules and safety procedures are being followed in day-to-day operations. During the year under review, FOCA carried out 3 audits and inspections at Zurich Airport. In addition, the internal Safety Office performed 11 (including emergency drill) audits. A few findings and a few dozen recommendations were identified, but no significant deficiencies were discovered.

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13 (of which some anonymous) tip-offs were received on the electronic platform for reporting safety concerns. All reports were followed up and action taken where possible. Unless the tip-offs were anonymous, those reporting their concerns were informed of the outcome.

Security

Zurich Airport is obliged to implement many national and international regulations relating to security in the air. This is based on the National Civil Aviation Security Programme (NASP) issued by FOCA. The airport operator is responsible for ensuring and verifying that its processes comply with all legislation. However, the Zurich cantonal police and private security firms are responsible for carrying out the actual security checks at doors and gates, and for passengers, baggage and freight.

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The performance of security checks at airports always involves balancing security, efficiency and customer-friendliness. However, ongoing improvements to the security processes aim to continually enhance the user experience.

Both the authorities and Flughafen Zürich AG itself regularly carry out spot checks and audits at the checkpoints to verify the quality of the service and compliance with the regulations. Compared with other European airports, compliance with regulations is very high, and Zurich Airport frequently receives high ratings for the customer-friendliness of its passenger security checkpoints.

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During the year under review, FOCA carried out 19 audits, inspections and tests. In addition, the internal Airport Security unit performed 191 quality control checks. 35 deviations were ascertained and corrected with the appropriate measures. Neither FOCA nor Airport Security detected any serious deviations. No incidents of a terrorist nature occurred at Zurich Airport during the year under review.

Occupational safety

For the Zurich Airport Group, occupational safety is not merely about complying with legislation, it is also a matter of attitude and showing leadership at all levels. Safety at work makes a valuable contribution both to preventing suffering and to avoiding – or at least reducing – the costs associated with absences. Switzerland’s accident insurance legislation obliges Flughafen Zürich AG to take all technically feasible steps deemed necessary according to experience in the circumstances to prevent occupational illnesses and workplace accidents. The company has set out its position in its occupational safety policy.

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Flughafen Zürich AG attaches great importance to informing its employees about risks and safety measures at the workplace. It encourages a positive safety culture through training and professional development. Accident risks and hazards are systematically identified and mitigated by appropriate safeguards. The company provides the resources required and treats occupational health and safety matters with the same priority as quality, productivity and profitability.

Flughafen Zürich AG regularly conducts internal inspections and audits. Inspections are also carried out by various official bodies. As well as day-to-day operations, the latter also review the systematic implementation of occupational health and safety measures.

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Key data

Zurich Airport

 

Unit

 

2017

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

Aircraft damage

 

Number of cases

 

46

 

24

 

29

 

20

 

25

Vehicle damage

 

Number of cases

 

95

 

108

 

131

 

38

 

33

Infrastructural damage

 

Number of cases

 

28

 

20

 

87 1)

 

52

 

53

1) since 2019: all operating areas (not only aircraft operating areas)

Flughafen Zürich AG, Zurich site

 

Unit

 

2017

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

Number of hours lost through accidents (occupational accidents)

 

Hours (h)

 

3,941

 

1,975

 

5,478

 

3,652

 

2,334

Number of hours lost through accidents (non-occupational accidents)

 

Hours (h)

 

8,632

 

10,010

 

9,104

 

16,609

 

13,837