Stakeholder engagement

The Zurich Airport Group engages in dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders, whether in Switzerland or at its sites abroad.

Our stakeholders

Residents

Zurich Airport Ltd. maintains an active dialogue with the local population at all sites. At the Zurich site, the company shares information in relation to noise specifically with public bodies such as the association for the protection of the population around the airport (SBFZ). Zurich Airport Ltd. provides details about its development plans and any related changes, ensuring its intentions and associated actions are communicated transparently through active participation in information events. It proactively communicates via the media, its own publications, at events as well as in collaboration with the respective political bodies. Key topics in the year under review once again included punctuality and operating hours, noise and noise protection and construction projects at Zurich Airport. The company also liaises with citizens’ organisations. Local residents affected by noise can contact a 24/7 aircraft noise hotline. See the Noise section for further information. There are a number of other channels of information for residents, such as the publication “Startklar” that is sent regularly to all households in the Canton of Zurich.

The majority interests in Brazil maintain contact with local residents primarily through projects which they implement in the social and cultural sphere in partnership with NGOs. They are also obliged by the authorities to provide information on noise immissions and to offer an online form for submitting complaints. The company engages in dialogue with the residents in Noida, India, as well, primarily through projects. Important issues include healthcare, continuing education and employment at the airport.

Individual customers

Passengers and other visitors to Zurich Airport Ltd. have several different ways to get in touch, including contact desks, as well as over the telephone or online. The channels are all managed locally. Customer satisfaction is systematically analysed by means of internal and external surveys and compared with other airports. The resulting data is used to identify and implement improvements on an ongoing basis. While the company regularly and proactively informs passengers via various channels about relevant issues relating to flight operations and how to prepare for air travel, the removal of prohibited dangerous goods from baggage is still a recurring issue for customers. Customers were also concerned about missing or damaged baggage, waiting times and complaints about the conduct of airport staff.

Zurich Airport again scored highly in regular customer satisfaction surveys carried out by third parties (see awards).

Airport partners

The airport system and everything it offers is made up of the many partner companies together with the operator company. There are approximately 300 companies at the Zurich site, nearly all of which have a direct contractual relationship with Zurich Airport Ltd., although they are largely independent in their operations. Together with Zurich Airport Ltd., they ensure the smooth operation of the airport and provide a wide range of services and amenities. Partner companies include airlines, baggage handling, maintenance, cleaning and security companies, first aid services, police and border police. Further partners are retail businesses, hospitality establishments and a wide range of service providers. The situation is similar at the sites abroad.

As the licence holder, Zurich Airport Ltd. attaches great importance to fair and transparent cooperation with all its partner companies. It actively engages in dialogue with these partner companies, wishing to see them prosper to ensure high quality across the board. This is reflected in the large number of committees that meet regularly to exchange ideas. At the Zurich site, for example, this includes the Airport Partners Meeting and the Strategy Board, which brings together executives at management board level, the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), the Airport User Board (AUB), and the annual meeting of airport tenants. Regular bilateral meetings are also held. Aviation safety is another important topic at all sites and is supported by overarching activities, including campaigns.

Research, education and training

The companies of the Zurich Airport Group maintain close contact with schools, universities and organisations engaged in research and education. At the Zurich site, experts from the company appear regularly at public events or lecture at various universities, enabling them to interact with students and researchers. In Brazil, the company maintains partnerships with public schools for knowledge transfer on environmental protection or the joint delivery of non-profit projects. In many instances, Zurich Airport Ltd. makes its personnel and infrastructure available at the Zurich site for practice-oriented research into new technologies. For example, the ZRH Innovation Hub at Zurich Airport Ltd. is conducting pilot projects and testing new technologies that are either not yet ready for the market or not yet established in the airport industry, but that offer enormous potential for efficiency improvements.

The Zurich site places great emphasis on networking with vocational training, which is why the company is involved at a vocational institution and seeks to exchange experiences with other persons in the field of vocational training. Employees, vocational educators and practical trainers also collaborate as audit experts in the annual training procedures, which allows them not only to stay up to date on educational developments in the industry but also to share their professional expertise with young talent.

Capital market

As a listed company, Zurich Airport Ltd. is obliged to comply with clearly defined requirements as regards transparency and reporting. This includes SIX Exchange Regulation’s obligation to provide information on facts that are relevant to the share price (ad-hoc publicity). Along with analysts and rating agencies, shareholders and external capital providers in particular need to be provided with a wide range of information.

The company occasionally publishes relevant information about its business situation, such as annual and interim results, monthly traffic statistics and – depending on the situation – individual ad-hoc press releases (Investor News [ad hoc]) via e-mail or on the company’s website (see Information policy for more details). Management and the Investor Relations department maintain a dialogue with the respective stakeholders through direct meetings or participation in conferences and roadshows.

Suppliers

Zurich Airport Ltd. and its majority-owned interests purchase goods and services from thousands of different suppliers, ranging in size from large multinationals down to small local firms. At the Zurich site alone, there are more than 3,500 suppliers. For many of them Zurich Airport Ltd. is a major customer, and Zurich Airport Ltd. maintains regular contact with many suppliers about products and services. Additional information about local suppliers and tendering requirements can be found in the Regional contribution section.

Media

Public interest in airports is great, and so is the range of subjects affected. Here the media play a dual reporting and multiplier role. Open and transparent information is important to the Zurich Airport Group. Its media offices prepare timely, high-quality information as and when required. In the reporting year, operational topics relating to punctuality, aircraft noise and demand trends were of particular interest. There was also a particular focus on investments in state-of-the-art infrastructure and sustainability topics.

Employees

Zurich Airport Ltd. is committed to a culture of open and transparent communications. To this end, a wide range of communication channels is available at all sites, from the staff magazine to the intranet and e-mails from the CEO on current issues. In addition, regular events are held to enable and promote personal contact and exchange of information between the Management Board and other members of management and employees. Zurich Airport Ltd. provides all employees with a mobile phone at the Zurich site, which further improves access to internal electronic information, particularly for employees without permanent office workplaces.

The staff representation council (PeV) represents the company’s Zurich-based employees at a collective level. See the Responsible employer section for further information on employees and their right to be consulted.

Non-governmental organisations

The Zurich Airport Group communicates with numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Owing to the wide-ranging nature of issues that arise at the Zurich site, these include organisations from all spheres of society, but in particular ones that are involved in business and commerce generally, labour organisations, or bodies concerned with matters of noise and environmental protection, disability-friendly construction and general aviation.

The Group also actively engages with NGOs in Latin America on a wide range of issues. In particular, these include business and trade interest groups predominantly interested in economic development. At its Brazilian sites and in Noida, India, the company maintains partnerships with NGOs for the implementation of social and environmental non-profit projects.

Governments and public authorities

Engaging in dialogue with legislators, administrative authorities and government agencies is very important for the Zurich Airport Group. Airport operations are a highly regulated business in all countries and are subject to both national and international regulations. At the same time, regional (“cantonal” in Switzerland) and municipal authorities are responsible for certain matters. The main topics at the Zurich site in the reporting year were maintaining the current operating hours as well as flight delays, especially during sensitive off-peak hours.

At the Zurich site, a community event with representatives from the administrations of all five neighbouring communities is held every year. In addition, meetings on technical matters are organised with municipal authorities and agencies as and when required, usually in relation to building projects and to noise arising from aircraft, construction or operations in general. Regular dialogue also takes place with representatives of neighbouring districts in Germany.

At the cantonal level, regular and ad-hoc meetings take place with members of the Government Council, the Cantonal Parliament or the competent authorities, in particular with the Office for Mobility of the Canton of Zurich. Similarly, dialogue is conducted at the federal level with the Federal Council, with commissions of the Federal Assembly and individual members of parliament. Regular meetings are held by special experts and managers with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). Zurich Airport Ltd. addresses political issues in its political newsletter called “Politikbrief” aimed at politicians and officials, which is issued at least four times a year. Zurich Airport Ltd. also plays an active role in legislative proceedings where it itself is affected, primarily in relation to infrastructure, transport, spatial planning and environmental issues.

The company’s airports abroad also communicate regularly with local governments and authorities, among other things with regard to further development of the concession models and specific airport development projects.

Memberships and partnerships