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Taxiway routing around runway 28 –reducing the risk of collisions

Routing the taxiway around runway 28 is a measure to further improve the safety margin at Zurich Airport.

Fewer runway crossings

Routing the taxiway around runway 28 is a measure to further improve the safety margin at Zurich Airport. This long-term project will see taxiing aircraft separated from arriving and departing aircraft. More than 100,000 runway crossings will be avoided in comparison with 2019.

This long-term project will see taxiing aircraft separated from arriving and departing aircraft. More than 100,000 runway crossings will be avoided in comparison with 2019.

In the Sectoral Aviation Infrastructure Plan (SAIP), the federal government tasked Flughafen Zürich AG in 2017 with assessing measures for reducing the risk of collision between aircraft taking off or landing on runway 28 and aircraft crossing this runway to reach stands on the southern apron. Solutions involving taxiway routing around the runway at the eastern end were to be pursued in particular.

The current "Taxiway routing around runway 28" project spatially separates the traffic flows of arriving and departing aircraft from one another for the most part. More than 100,000 crossings over runway 28 will be avoided each year in comparison with 2019. The taxiway routing is an important measure to further improve the operational safety margin.

North concept

Status quo

Illustration of Zurich Airport with the current operating status of the northern concept. Take-offs are from runway 28 in a westerly direction and from runway 16 in a southerly direction. Landings are made on runway 14 from the north and on runway 28 from the east. A red marker shows the critical point at which aircraft taking off and landing on runway 28 cross each other.

Taxiway routing

Illustration of Zurich Airport with optimized flight movements due to the planned taxiing of runway 28. Take-offs will continue to take place on runways 28 and 16, landings on runways 14 and 28. Thanks to new taxiways, aircraft taking off and landing on runway 28 will no longer cross each other. A green marking shows the area of the taxiway, which makes the critical crossing point less critical than before.

East concept

Status quo

Illustration of Zurich Airport with the current operating status of the eastern concept. It shows landings on runway 28 from the west and take-offs on runways 32 to the north and 28 to the west. A red marker shows the critical point at which aircraft taking off and landing on runway 28 cross each other. This crossing scenario is considered a safety risk and leads to operational restrictions for simultaneous arrivals and departures.

Taxiway routing

Illustration of Zurich Airport showing the modified taxiways following the implementation of the taxiing of Runway 28 in the eastern concept. The new taxiway is located at the eastern end of runway 28, just before the taxiway intersection with the landing line. This taxiway allows aircraft taking off to use the runway to the west without crossing the landing line of aircraft arriving from the west. This means that take-offs on runway 28 and landings can take place simultaneously and without conflict. Landings will continue to be made from the west, take-offs via runway 32 to the north and runway 28 to the west.