Business update

On 1 April 2025, Zurich Airport Ltd. celebrated its 25th anniversary as a privatised company. To mark the occasion, all employees were invited to a lunch on the observation deck. The challenging start as a diversified business and listed company as well as the major milestones in the company’s history so far were highlighted in the publications of Zurich Airport Ltd. and in a dedicated anniversary podcast. However, the airport is not only able to look back on the past with pride; current developments and the future outlook are also positive.

Aviation

In the first half of 2025, a total of 14,959,852 passengers used Zurich Airport as a departure, transfer or destination airport. This corresponds to growth of 3% compared to the prior-year period and also sets a new record for passenger volume in a first half-year in the airport’s history. In particular, the Easter, spring and summer holidays as well as the stable economic situation and the population’s continued growing demand for mobility contributed to the positive trend in traffic volume. On peak days, passenger volumes exceeded 110,000 persons. A pleasing level was also achieved in the first half-year in air freight with 219,470 tonnes, which is slightly above the prior-year figure.

This positive development is based on the current summer flight timetable: 206 destinations are served by 63 airlines – a slight increase compared to the previous year. Besides new European routes for SWISS, easyJet and Edelweiss, the latter also added the two North American destinations of Seattle and Halifax to its flight network. Condor is increasing flights to Frankfurt, while Etihad now offers two daily connections to Abu Dhabi.

A highlight in flight operations was the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2025. The year got off to a successful start with the smooth handling of many governmental and charter flights. Moreover, Edelweiss celebrated a premiere with an Airbus A350 registered in Switzerland landing in Zurich for the first time. This occasion also marked the beginning of the fleet modernisation at SWISS and Edelweiss, which will help to reduce noise levels at Zurich Airport in the long term.

On 31 March 2025, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) approved Zurich Airport Ltd.'s request for an adjustment to noise charges. Among other things, the adjustment includes a reclassification of noise categories, higher noise charges for take-offs after 23:00 and a new charge level for flight movements after 23:15. No objections to the FOCA decision have been submitted. The new noise charges will become effective with the other flight operation charges in the next charge period, no later than at the beginning of 2027.

FOCA has reorganised the structure of the airspace around Zurich Airport to further increase safety and efficiency. The new structure was introduced on 20 March 2025. This represents the implementation of a further measure from the Zurich Airport Safety Review.

Adjustments to passenger processes

Following completion of the construction work on the baggage carousels, Check-in 1 has been fully available to travellers of all classes since March 2025 after a renovation phase of around ten months.

At the same time, the automation of the handling process is making good progress. For instance, the number of self-service baggage tag machines has been increased. Twelve of the airlines operating at Zurich Airport now offer a fully automated handling process – from online check-in to self-service baggage tag printing and self-service bag drops. This continuous digital process is already available to around two-thirds of departing passengers.

Data-based decision-making tools, such as the Airport Operations Plan (AOP), are becoming more and more important in flight operations. The AOP is a web application created by Zurich Airport Ltd. in cooperation with a local innovation and technology company, which is being continuously developed according to operational needs. Using this web application, flight operations data can be prepared and visualised in order to optimise infrastructure and personnel planning. The AOP recorded around 20,000 monthly user visits by Zurich Airport Ltd. and its partner companies in the first quarter of 2025, underscoring the growing acceptance of digital services. These developments provide an important contribution to increasing efficiency in operations and improving passenger experience.

Another step forward can be seen in the successive introduction of CT (computed tomography) scanners at the security checkpoints. The devices enable more convenient and efficient security checks. Thanks to the new technology, electronic devices and liquids can be left in hand luggage.

Multiple awards received again

Zurich Airport once again received multiple awards in 2025. Based on reviews from 2024, Zurich Airport was honoured with the ASQ Award as Europe’s best airport in the “25 to 40 Million Passengers” category. This means that Zurich Airport has been among Europe’s top airports since 2018. Zurich Airport also achieved top positions in the Skytrax Awards: first place in the “Best Airport: 20 to 30 Million Passengers” category, first place as “Cleanest Airport in Europe” and tenth place among the “World’s Top 10 Airports of 2025”.

Real estate and commercial centers

The real estate business of Zurich Airport Ltd. also proved itself to be a solid business segment and an important pillar of business performance in the first half of 2025. Demand for space remains at a high level. With around 317 tenants, the real estate portfolio testifies impressively to the variety of the companies based at the airport as well as to Zurich Airport’s appeal as a business location. The Circle also provides a substantial contribution in this regard.

An important strategic step in this connection is the acquisition of the Radisson Blu building by Zurich Airport Ltd. With this acquisition, Zurich Airport Ltd. is consolidating its position in the central airport perimeter in a targeted manner.

The Circle continued to strengthen its position as a successful business hub in the first half of 2025. The offering in the areas of gastronomy and modern work environments was purposefully expanded with the opening of the confectionery store Bachmann and the Novu Campus. While Bachmann enhances the culinary range available at the main square with its own bakery and chocolate shop, the Novu Campus offers innovative co-working spaces on three floors. With more than 50 companies represented at the Circle with over 5,000 employees, the appeal of the business hub is clear. Events such as the Spring Festival attracted around 25,000 visitors in the first half of 2025. Another highlight followed directly at the beginning of the second half of the year: the public screening of the UEFA Women’s European Championship.

Airport Shopping/Airside Center

Passenger growth in the first half-year led to positive business development in the Airside Center. In the airside area, the range of attractive products available was expanded with the Bulgari and Chanel Beauty brands as well as a new Haute Parfumerie. In the landside area, revenue remained slightly behind the previous year due to restrictions caused by construction work. Offerings such as Roots and Caffè Spettacolo now complement the culinary offerings of the landside area.

As part of its charitable endeavours, Zurich Airport donated CHF 198,635 to the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society in the first half of 2025 through the long-term “Charity Water” initiative conducted in partnership with Avolta. The project will continue in the second half of the year with funds benefitting the Stiftung allani Kinderhospiz Bern, a foundation that provides children’s hospice care.

For 25 years, travellers have been able to donate their leftover foreign currency into heart-shaped donation boxes. The amounts collected are converted into Swiss francs and passed on, without deduction, to three charitable organisations: SOS Children’s Villages, Swiss Red Cross of the Canton of Zurich and the WWF. Every year, around CHF 120,000 is collected for charitable causes in this way.

Development projects and infrastructure at Zurich Airport

In connection with the refurbishment of the baggage sorting system, the focus in the first half of 2025 was on replacing the link to Dock E. Central commissioning in the main airport complex already took place in 2024.

The project for developing the departure landside passenger zones (DLPZ) is also proceeding apace. The goal is to eliminate bottlenecks in the passenger process and to help guests navigate the airport, while also separating them from goods logistics. The northern section of Airport Shopping will be completely redesigned in the process: besides optimised links to the terminal, the Circle, public transport and car parks, additional attractive retail spaces will emerge as well as a light-filled food hall called TREATS.

As part of the Dock A replacement project, the first preparations have begun in the airside area. These include the temporary module for bus gates and lounge areas as well as preparatory work on the apron in the north of the current Dock A. The Board of Directors has also initiated the next planning phase for the new Dock A.

Freight infrastructure will also be further developed. The structural work is on schedule. Construction of the modern Rächtenwisen cargo building is under way in the east of the airport. Once completed, the new facility will be operated by dnata Switzerland AG from the start of 2027.

New infrastructure is being developed in Zone West for business and general aviation. The implementation work is currently being prepared. The project involves the construction of a new terminal building for business aviation passengers, including the associated administration infrastructure, apron area and landside and airside infrastructure.

In terms of sustainability, Zurich Airport Ltd. is consistently pursuing its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040. Major projects include the construction of an energy center (for which a ground-breaking ceremony was recently held), as well as the use of an ice-age channel for seasonal energy storage – a pioneering project that is already showing tangible progress with the successful construction of the first test well.

Further key projects

The ZRH Innovation Hub is actively shaping the future of the airport: two autonomous shuttle buses for airport employees successfully began pilot operation in the first half of the year. In addition, a trend radar was introduced as a strategic management tool and strategic foresight was initiated. As part of the working group “ZRH Go”, the Innovation Hub worked with airport partners to improve the boarding process with the aim of increasing process efficiency even further.

In facility cleaning, 17 autonomous cleaning robots have been supporting the team since the spring of 2025. The devices handle the cleaning of extensive areas, noticeably reduce the workload for employees and increase quality and efficiency. In the sanitary facilities, the new smart cleaning system uses over 400 sensor-based systems and AI-supported analysis for pro-active, data-based optimisation of cleaning quality.

The S4US project for introducing the new SAP S/4HANA system is also pressing ahead. It was possible to complete the concept phase in July 2025 and begin implementation. The project is a key part of standardisation and the basis for digitising core processes in SAP. The aim is to increase operational efficiency and work with a modern and future-proof system. The switch to the new system will take place in January 2027.

International airport business

India

The largest overseas project of the Zurich Airport Group, the construction of Noida International Airport in the greater Delhi region, is now on the finishing straight. Following the successful calibration flights at the end of 2024 and the first landing of a scheduled-service aircraft, further important steps towards commencing operations were taken in the first half of 2025. Over the coming weeks, we expect the operating licence to be granted and the provisional airport charges to be set by the Indian regulator – two key conditions for the start of operations. Meetings with the Indian government for planning and scheduling an official opening ceremony can then begin. Cooperation agreements have already been signed with two of the three major Indian airlines (Indigo Airlines and Akasa Air); intensive discussions are in progress with additional airlines. The demand for air freight capacity is also very high.

Brazil

The airports of the Zurich Airport Group in Brazil can look back on a successful first half of 2025. In particular, Florianópolis Airport was named Brazil’s best airport for the fifth time in a row ­– a rating that covers all airports and is officially carried out by the government. Moreover, Florianópolis Airport is among the fastest-growing airports in Brazil. It plays a significant role in tourism transport in Brazil and is the country’s third largest airport after Guarulhos (GRU) in São Paulo and Rio Galeão (GIG), measured by the number of international passengers.

With respect to sustainability, three of the four Brazilian airports (Florianópolis, Vitória and Macaé) achieved the second-highest certification level (Level 4) under the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation programme in 2025. They are among South America’s first airports to have a certified strategy for reducing their own CO₂ emissions to net zero.

Another important project was completed in Macaé, where the new runway began operations in June.

Corporate culture

In total, 251 new employees were hired by Zurich Airport Ltd. in the first half of the year. Of these, 105 employees were taken on as part of the assumption of services for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM), which took place at the beginning of the year. Continued development as an attractive employer continues to be a strategic priority. Regular team barometer surveys based on the COACH values (collaborative, open, agile, committed and human) and supporting workshops help to identify specific areas of action and derive measures. In addition, a company-wide leadership programme was introduced that promotes shared, practical leadership qualities among leaders and project managers.

An innovative format for career guidance was also launched with “Take a seat for your future”, giving young people direct insights into the varied vocations at the airport. This initiative lets us underscore our role as a committed provider of vocational training that uses modern formats to keep pace with the next generation and help them experience the airport as an attractive place to work.