Thanks to WEF
More flight movements at Zurich Airport in January
More planes took off and landed at Zurich Airport in January than a year ago. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos also caused additional traffic. However, the gap to the level before the corona crisis could not be reduced any further.
In January, the number of flights at Zurich Airport increased, but the volume of traffic is still below pre-crisis levels. (archive image)
In total, Zurich Airport registered 16,749 flight movements in January. This is an increase of 37 percent compared to the previous year, according to figures from the airport website evaluated by the AWP news agency. Compared to January 2021, this means more than a tripling.
The busiest day was January 20 with more than 700 aircraft movements. This coincides with the conclusion of this year’s WEF in Davos. Above-average values were already recorded in the previous days and at the beginning of the forum. According to a statement, the airport itself expected a total of around 1,000 additional flights in connection with the event.
However, there is still a large deficit compared to the level before the corona crisis. In January 2020, around 3,250 or 17 percent more aircraft took off and landed in Zurich. This means that the difference has increased again somewhat compared to the values of 15 percent in the final months of 2022. In 2022 as a whole, the minus was around 21 percent.
The flight movement figures at Zurich Airport are based on statistics updated daily, in which all flights are recorded according to instrument flight rules. In addition to scheduled flights, this so-called IFR traffic also includes freight, business and private flights. The number of flight movements says nothing about the size of the aircraft handled and their utilization.
Zurich Airport will publish detailed passenger and traffic figures for January on 13 February.