Zürich Airport Flughafen Zürich |
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Flughafen Zürich AG | ||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Kloten, Rümlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon | ||||||||||||||||||
Hub for |
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Focus city for | |||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 1,416 ft / 432 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 47°27′53″N 008°32′57″E / 47.46472°N 8.54917°ECoordinates: 47°27′53″N 008°32′57″E / 47.46472°N 8.54917°E | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | zurich-airport.com | ||||||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||||||
Location of airport in Switzerland | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2016) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Passengers | 27,666,428 |
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Passengers change 15–16 | 5.3% |
Aircraft movements | 269,160 |
Movements change 15–16 | 1.5% |
Zürich Airport (German: Flughafen Zürich, IATA: ZRH, ICAO: LSZH), also known as Kloten Airport, is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's largest city, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest of the country. The airport is located 13 kilometres (8 mi) north of central Zürich, in the municipalities of Kloten, Rümlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon, all of which are within the canton of Zürich.
The first flight abroad from Switzerland was on July 21, 1921. In the early years of aviation, the Dübendorf Air Base, located some 8 km (5.0 mi) to the south-east of Zürich Airport, also served as the city's commercial airfield. The need for a dedicated commercial facility led to the search for a location at which to build a replacement airport. Switzerland's federal parliament decided in 1945 that Zürich was to be the site of a major airport, and sold 655 hectares (1,620 acres) of the Kloten-Bülach Artillery Garrison (German: Artillerie-Waffenplatz Kloten-Bülach) to the Canton of Zürich, giving the canton control of the new airfield. Construction of the airport began the following year.
Initial plans for the airport, as laid out in the Federal government's scheme of 1945, were centered on facilities capable of handling international airline traffic. Aircraft of up to 80 tons were envisaged. The primary runway was to be designed for use in all weathers and at night, with a 400-meter-wide hard surface running to 3000 meters in length. Additional 100-meter areas were to be provided on the shoulders for lateral protection in case of runway excursions. Additional domestic runways, between 1000 and 1400 meters in length, were also to be built.