Air traffic Passenger numbers at Zurich Airport again exceed pre-crisis level
Zurich Airport recorded an increase in passenger numbers in October that exceeded the 2019 level, while commercial revenue fell slightly.
12.11.2024, 18:01
12.11.2024, 18:11
SDA
Zurich Airport once again recorded an increase in passenger numbers in October, exceeding the 2019 level. A total of 2.97 million people traveled through Switzerland's largest airport, an increase of 3.6% compared to the previous year. This figure corresponds to 103.5% of the passenger volume in October 2019.
The increase in passenger numbers is attributable to both local passengers and transfer passengers. While the number of local passengers increased by 2.5%, the number of transfer passengers rose by 6.5%.
Flight movements and capacity utilization
In October, 23,808 flights were operated at Zurich Airport, an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous year. Despite the higher passenger numbers, the number of flights was 99% of the pre-crisis level of 2019. The airport explains this with the use of larger aircraft and better capacity utilization.
The average number of passengers per flight rose by 0.9% to 140.1 in the month under review. The seat occupancy rate reached 82.9%, which represents an increase of 1 percentage point compared to the previous year.
Commercial revenue
Turnover from commercial activities at the airport amounted to CHF 55.4 million in October, which corresponds to a slight decrease of 0.3%. The majority of sales, CHF 33.1 million, were generated in the non-public airside area, where an increase of 0.5% was recorded.
In the landside area, which is also accessible to non-traveling visitors and includes the "Circle", sales fell by 1.3% to CHF 22.3 million. This development shows that despite rising passenger numbers, commercial sales did not increase to the same extent.
