Air traffic is booming, and more and more people are travelling by plane. As passenger numbers rise, the significance of Zurich Airport as a centre of employment and a business location is also increasing. In 2016, around 280 companies based at the airport provided over 27,000 people with jobs. There are thus approximately as many jobs at the airport as in the cities of Schaffhausen or Thun.

CHF 5 billion in added value
The economic activity of the companies based at the airport generate added value of around CHF 5 billion in total. In addition to the added value generated directly at the airport, investments in infrastructure and purchases from suppliers in the region account for indirect added value and additional jobs indirectly associated with the airport. Overall, the result is added value on the scale of that of cantons Glarus and Nidwalden together. 

12,000 overnight tourists per day
Moreover, the study shows that each year 4.3 million overnight tourists or approximately one in four overnight tourists travel to Switzerland via Zurich Airport. Whereas the number of European tourists is declining, the proportion of tourists from far-flung markets such as Asia and North and South America has increased considerably in the past few years. At the same time, the trend towards short (business) city breaks within Europe is growing. This development underscores the increasing importance of air travel and of an attractive intercontinental airport for Switzerland as a tourism location.

40% of all exports leave Switzerland as air freight
In addition to transport and bringing people together, aviation is responsible for the rapid and safe transport of high-quality goods. In terms of value, 40% of all exports from Switzerland are transported by air. There is often no alternative to air freight, in particular for expensive and sensitive quality products such as medications, watches, jewellery and precision instruments. As a large portion of freight transport is conducted with scheduled flights, Zurich Airport with its many direct connections makes a major contribution to ensuring that Switzerland functions as an efficient “workshop”.

Accessibility values are stagnating and endangering the location’s attractiveness
Furthermore, an airport also creates key prerequisites for a region aiming to position itself as a business location among international competitors. Accessibility is the most important of these factors. The study underscores the significance of Zurich Airport for the current high level of accessibility. Measured in terms of the accessibility model of BAK Economics, Zurich is still very accessible – in both global and continental terms – and is therefore an attractive location for internationally active companies. However, in recent years, accessibility has stagnated and is even declining compared with competitor locations in Europe. In 2000, Zurich achieved high accessibility scores on a par with Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris – the locations of Europe’s biggest hub airports. Today, the gap in continental and intercontinental accessibility has already widened to 15-20 percentage points.

A summary of the study is available at: www.zurich-airport.com/economy.