Pandemia and travel

Zürich Airport on the mend after a tough 2020

The coronavirus has once again impacted traveler numbers, but the figures in 2021 were up 22.7 % from the previous year

Zurich Airport on the rebound after a bad 2020

Ats

13.01.2022 10:22

The pandemic concerning coronavirus has once again taken its toll on Zurich Airport: however, the number of travelers in 2021 has increased by 22.7% in comparison to 2020, the company operating the airport announced. The stringent travel restrictions in 2020 have weighed much more heavily than those imposed last year.

There were 10.2 million registered travelers in Kloten (ZH) during 2021, compared to 8.3 million in 2020. In the previous year of the pandemic, 2019, there had been as many as 31.5 million.

Considering December alone, the overall increase between last year and 2020 was as much as 198.2% to almost 1.06 million passengers (however, compared to 2019, the decrease is 45.4%).

When comparing 2021 and 2020, the number of domestic passengers rose by 23.1% to 7.7 million, and the number of transit passengers by 21.7% to 2.4 million, points out Flughafen Zürich. Following a difficult start, air traffic improved in the summer and autumn. However, towards the end of the year, the appearance of the Omicron variant made matters more difficult, especially for international travel.

As far as airlines are concerned, Swiss flights were the dominant ones, representing 51.7% of total traffic. Parent company Lufthansa was a distant second (3%), third behind the other Swiss carrier Edelweiss (9.7%). Aircraft movements amounted to 132,600 (up 19.1% compared with 2020).

The upturn in activity was also reflected in freight, where volumes in 2021 advanced 35% year-on-year to 393,062 tons of freight transported. Commercial activities - in particular stores and restaurants - recorded an increase in turnover of 24.3% to 294.8 million francs.