Air traffic Zurich Airport increases passenger numbers in August

Passenger numbers at Zurich Airport rose significantly in August compared to the same month last year. The pre-crisis level of 2019 was almost reached again.

A total of 3.10 million people traveled through Switzerland's largest airport in August, as the airport announced in a press release on Wednesday evening. This was 6 percent more than in August a year ago.

This means that the airport has almost returned to its pre-pandemic level: passenger numbers were 99.5% of the level in August 2019.

More transfer passengers again

Of the passengers, 2.14 million were local passengers departing or arriving in Zurich. The number of transfer passengers climbed to 0.95 million.

This means that local passengers are not far short of the pre-corona level of August 2019. The number of transfer passengers has even slightly exceeded the pre-crisis level.

More flights in Zurich

More aircraft also landed and took off in Zurich in August than in the same month last year. The number of flights rose by around 4 percent to 24,132, representing almost 96 percent of the flight movements in August 2019.

On average, 145 passengers were seated on an aircraft. This means that 85 out of 100 seats on an aircraft were occupied.

More sold after security check

Meanwhile, commercial sales increased by 2% to CHF 55.7 million in August, exceeding the pre-corona level. This is thanks to the stores and restaurants on the "airside" (after the security check), which increased their sales by 5 percent. In contrast, sales in the stores and restaurants on the "landside" fell by 2 percent.

Finally, the airport handled 33,640 tons of freight in the month under review, an increase of around 23 percent. However, it did not quite reach the pre-pandemic cargo volume.

SDA