Occupational and aviation safety

The Zurich Airport Group does its utmost to protect people, aircraft, vehicles and infrastructure from damage, accidents and criminal acts.

Relevance

Ensuring safety and security is also a core responsibility where the company’s operations abroad are concerned. However, owing to the specific terms of the concession models in the respective countries, this may be handled organisationally in different ways at the various airports. In Brazil, the airport operator is responsible for drafting safety and security concepts, whilst implementation is contracted out to private security firms. The concepts must be approved by various government agencies at different levels (security, customs and regulatory authorities). In Chile, on the other hand, all aspects of flight safety are a matter for the civil aviation authority, namely the Dirección General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC). Airport licence holders are responsible for safety solely in the publicly accessible passenger zones.

All countries where Zurich Airport Ltd. 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 ICAO rules are the legal minimum, and are specified in more detail and monitored by the respective national civil aviation authorities. In Switzerland – and therefore at Zurich Airport – safety and security requirements are monitored by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), which in turn relies largely on European (European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA) regulations, which are binding for Zurich Airport Ltd. The Zurich Airport Group is also obliged to comply with all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements in the countries in which it operates.

Approach and progress

Zurich Airport

Overarching safety and security responsibilities

Zurich Airport Ltd. operates an Integrated Management System (IMS) to manage all safety and security aspects relating to flight operations at the Zurich site. As well as safety and security, this system also encompasses occupational health and safety. It aims firstly to reduce organisational risks by putting clear processes and organisational structures in place, and secondly to systematically improve preventive measures so that injuries and material damage are avoided from the outset.

The collaboration of all companies based at the airport and their employees is essential to ensure safety and security. Various factors can have an impact on safety, from the structural conditions, organisational structures and processes to the conduct of employees. Flight operations and ramp safety at the Zurich site are handled by specific units of Zurich Airport Ltd. They ensure everything always runs smoothly in accordance with the regulations and stand ready to respond to any incidents.

In the event of an incident, Zurich Airport Ltd. also bears the primary responsibility for coordinating the various emergency responders. As well as drafting and updating emergency plans and emergency operating concepts, the company is obliged to carry out regular large-scale drills. To further strengthen organisational resilience at the Zurich site, an interdepartmental business continuity management (BCM) procedure was initiated in the reporting year, including the development of a company-wide BCM policy. Although the airport fire and rescue service is based on the airfield, it is actually part of the City of Zurich’s emergency services (Schutz & Rettung Zürich). The professional cantonal civil defence organisation can be called on for assistance in the event of an incident at the airport.

Safety days were once again held at the Zurich site in November 2024 as part of the ongoing “Working together for a safer airport” campaign. These days are organised together with our airport partners to highlight various topical aspects relating to safety and security, occupational safety and fire safety. Safety days help to raise awareness and deliver related further training. Over 1,200 employees of Zurich Airport Ltd. and its airport partners participated.

Safety

Both the authorities and Zurich Airport Ltd. regularly conduct inspections and airport operation audits to verify that the rules and safety procedures are being followed in day-to-day operations. Any necessary corrective action is then taken where necessary. In the course of the reporting year, two preannounced inspections were carried out by FOCA at the Zurich site. In addition, the Airport’s internal pool of auditors supervised by the Safety & Compliance Office conducted 32 audits and inspections or documentation reviews. A few deviations and several recommendations were identified, but no significant deficiencies were discovered.

All the measures taken aim to continually reduce each year the number of accidents and incidents relative to the number of flight movements. Whilst the number of incidents resulting in damage to aircraft and infrastructure declined slightly, an increase was recorded in the number of incidents resulting in damage to vehicles. This was again due to the insufficient experience of the partner companies’ staff as a result of the many new hirings, which it was not possible to rectify to the desired degree through additional training and assistance. Changes to infrastructure due to construction sites and the related traffic changes also had a negative impact on safety performance. In absolute terms, the safety level remained high.

In the reporting year, the Safety & Compliance Office introduced a new IT tool (SMS tool) that systematically and efficiently maps all topics relevant to safety, resulting in a major increase in efficiency in day-to-day operations. Among other benefits, this tool will enable hazards and risks to be identified more systematically and proactively in the future and allow appropriate measures to be introduced.

Security

Zurich Airport is obliged to implement many national and international regulations relating to security in the air. These are 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 checking passengers, baggage and freight.

To increase flight safety, a drone detection system was evaluated in the reporting year and is scheduled to be commissioned in January 2025. Rapid recognition of a potential threat from a drone’s entry into the airport perimeter will enable more rapid intervention and notification of air traffic control.

Both the authorities and Zurich Airport Ltd. 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. During the reporting year, FOCA carried out 22 audits, inspections and tests. In addition, the internal Airport Security unit performed 186 quality control checks. A total of 35 deviations were identified, none of which was serious, and were corrected by means of appropriate measures.

No incidents of a terrorist nature occurred at Zurich Airport during the reporting year.

Occupational safety and fire safety

Work processes, equipment and materials are regularly analysed with respect to hazards, and after incidents or accidents. Internal Safety Officers who have received appropriate training are responsible for this, as well as for determining relevant improvement measures. If an employee considers a situation dangerous, they are required to stop work immediately and seek assistance. Every unit has a contact person for occupational safety, and these officers are in contact with each other at regular intervals several times a year. Co-workers and line managers are obliged to report incidents and accidents to a central office for investigation.

Zurich Airport Ltd. regularly conducts internal inspections and audits. Inspections are also carried out by various official bodies. Besides checking day-to-day operations, the latter also review the systematic implementation of occupational health and safety as well as fire safety measures. After the processes for identifying hazards, audits and accident investigations were revised two years ago, it is now clear that they are proving their worth. Based on the standardised procedure, the Safety Officers develop measures to improve safety for the attention of the line managers, who are responsible for their employees. Software-supported management of measures enables the measures to be documented and their impact tracked and statistically evaluated.

Safety at majority-owned international subsidiaries

The majority-owned airports in Brazil operate a safety and occupational safety management system designed to ensure the health of employees. This system comprises a risk management programme and an occupational health and safety programme in compliance with the statutory requirements. It covers both hazard identification and regular employee training. A continuous improvement process ensures that an incident or a tip-off from an employee triggers an investigation and additional measures are taken where necessary. The system covers all of the airport operator’s employees.

The two airports in Chile also have an occupational health and safety system based on ISO standard 45001 in order to comply with their statutory obligations.

Occupational health and safety is one of the top priorities for workers on the construction site for the airport currently being built in Noida, India. As the responsible promoter, the local subsidiary established a health, safety and environmental management system which also covers safety and occupational safety. This system complies with the customary industry standards, meets the statutory requirements and is certified according to ISO 45001. The system covers all construction work for the new airport, and consequently all workers on the site, irrespective of where they are employed. Any reports of incidents or hazardous situations are collected centrally for analysis, and corrective action is taken where necessary. The safety of workers is a high priority and various measures are implemented to ensure this, from medical care to the availability of personal protective equipment that is adapted to the activity in question.

When construction contracts were signed in India, Zurich Airport Ltd. imposed strict workforce protection conditions that go above and beyond the statutory requirements. Additional insulation and ventilation was fitted to workers’ accommodation on the construction site to provide better protection from the weather. Care was also taken in the sanitary facilities to respect privacy and protect the health of workers. Both the authorities and the management of the local subsidiary periodically check site safety and the accommodation situation.

Key data