Zurich's airport boss: Usa trips are booming-passenger numbers continue to rise!

Zurich's airport boss: Usa trips are booming-passenger numbers continue to rise!

Flughafen Zürich, Schweiz - Zurich Airport, an important hub for passenger and freight traffic, recorded a significant increase in passenger numbers in 2024. This emerges from an interview with Lukas Brosi, the CEO of the airport. Brosi confidently comments on the demand for travel to the USA and also expects an unbroken travel desire in the second half of 2025.

Current trends show that the number of passengers remain stable over the course of the year, which shows no signs of an upcoming weakening. Brosi emphasizes that it is working on an extensive construction site at the airport to create more space for travelers, shops and restaurants. This is regarded as a necessary measure to meet the growing requirements.

growth of passenger numbers

In 2024, 8 % more passengers traveled across Zurich Airport compared to the previous year. The passenger volumes initially had a cautious start, but exceeded the pre -crisis level in May, September, September, October and December. More than 110,000 passengers were counted on several peak days. The development of the intercontinental market, which grew by 7 % and now makes a quarter of the passengers, is particularly striking.

The market segments show different developments: the local market was 2 % below the pre -crisis volume, while the transfer market, which is 30 % of total traffic, was able to grow growth of 1 % compared to 2019. The North American goals in particular are very popular because they exceed the previous crisis volume by 8 %. In comparison, the Middle East fell to 88 %, which is mainly due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

market developments in air traffic

In the analysis of the passenger volume, it becomes clear that the Swiss has a significant share of traffic with 52 %, followed by Edelweiss Air with 10 %. Interestingly, Easyjet has overtaken Eurowings and Lufthansa with a market share of 2 % for the first time since 2019. However, the Lufthansa Group remains dominant with a total assignment of 67 % and transported 95 % of transfer passengers.

The number of flight movements rose less strongly compared to the number of passengers, which led to an annual seat utilization of around 81 %. On average, there were 136 passengers on board per flight movement, which represents an increase of six passengers compared to 2019. However, in the area of ​​General Aviation there was a decline in flight movements by 6 % compared to the previous year.

development in freight traffic

A positive aspect of airport development is the increased freight volume that grew by 15 %. The air freight accounts for 70 % of the total freight volume, but remains 9 % below the pre -crisis level. A gratifying detail is that 97 % of the air freight was transported in passenger aircraft as a belly freight. Despite an increase in demand for road freight by 13 % compared to the pre -crisis level, air freight development has been restricted by a lack of freight capacity in line traffic.

Overall, the positive development speaks in both passenger and freight traffic for a strong position of the Zurich Airport, which continues to act as an important player on the international market. The coming months should show whether the trend continues and how the ongoing construction work will influence future development. Further information can be found on Fuw.ch and Report.firport-zuerich.ch .