Noise charges are an important environmental protection instrument. They are part of the airport operating charges and fall under the aviation segment as defined in the Airport Charges Ordinance.

These charges have a steering effect: they create financial incentives for airlines to use the quietest possible aircraft and to avoid noise intensive flight movements, especially during the sensitive shoulder hours and at night. The louder an aircraft is, the higher the charge. Particularly quiet aircraft may even be fully exempt from noise charges.

• Airport Charges Ordinance

The charges for airport operations, such as landing, noise and emissions charges, are strictly regulated by the state. According to federal regulations, these charges must cover costs but may not generate a profit. A specific mechanism ensures that excessive revenues are balanced out in the following period. This guarantees that Zurich Airport does not make profits in the regulated sector but finances its infrastructure fairly and transparently, in line with environmental and noise protection requirements.

Aircraft are assigned to different noise categories based on their noise levels. Each category has a table with applicable charges, which differ between take off and landing. In addition, surcharges apply for flights during particularly noise sensitive hours. For night time flights after 23:00, these surcharges are significantly higher.
In summary:

• Noise categories: Each aircraft is assigned to a category according to its noise emissions.
• Charge table: Costs depend on whether the aircraft is taking off or landing.
• Night time surcharges: Flights between 22:00 and 06:00 are subject to substantially higher rates to minimise night time noise.

For each noise category, a daytime noise charge is applied and billed with every landing.

In addition, noise surcharges are applied depending on the shoulder hour or night time period.

Per take-off:

*ABT (Airbone Time)

Per arrival:

*TDT (Touchdown Time)

• Airport Charges Regulation

The purpose of noise charges is to create a financial incentive for the use of quieter, modern aircraft and noise reducing operating procedures. This helps reduce the noise impact on residents living near the airport.

Who benefits?

• Residents benefit from quieter aircraft operations.
• Airlines that invest in modern, low noise fleets pay lower charges.
• Zurich Airport strengthens its commitment to sustainable and socially responsible operations.

Advantages

• Promotes the technological modernization of aircraft fleets
• Reduces noise exposure in affected areas
• Rewards low noise aircraft through lower charges
• Creates transparency and an economic incentive for noise reduction

To ensure a continuous incentive for all airlines to acquire or operate the quietest aircraft possible, a periodic adjustment of the noise category classification in line with technological progress is necessary. For this reason, Zurich Airport applied on December 10th 2024 to revise the noise charge model. The proposal includes both a reclassification of aircraft types into noise categories and an increase in noise surcharges.

The reclassification leads to significant adjustments. For example, the A330 300, which is frequently used at Zurich Airport, will now be placed in noise category I. In addition, a meaningful distinction is introduced within the A320 family between the previous (ceo) and new (neo) variants.

The daytime noise charges for categories III (CHF 200) and IV (CHF 100) will be appropriately increased to create incentives for replacing the short  and medium haul fleet (A320 family). Today's daytime noise charges of CHF 40 and CHF 10 per landing have little steering effect.

Furthermore, the noise surcharges for take offs after 23:00 will be increased, and an additional fee step at 23:15 will be introduced for both landings and take offs. This aims to encourage airlines to depart earlier rather than later during the delay recovery period.

Overall, the adjustments strengthen the incentive to use quieter aircraft:

• Increased surcharges for louder aircraft
• Reclassification of noise categories for more precise differentiation
• Significant increase in night time charges after 23:00

Noise surcharges for take offs between 23:00 and 23:30 will rise: from CHF 3,000 to CHF 4,000 (until 23:15) and CHF 5,000 (until 23:30). This period is primarily used to reduce delays. The increase aims to influence particularly loud long haul flights without excessively restricting airport operations. Profit margins per long haul flight range from CHF 7,000 to 10,000, making the adjustment noticeable yet proportionate.

• Further information on the noise charge adjustment

The existing Airport Zurich Noise Fund (AZNF) is used to finance costs arising from aircraft and operational noise.

These include, for example:

• Sound insulation measures for buildings
• Noise monitoring systems
• Compensation in cases of formal expropriation

The funds for the AZNF come from the noise charges that airlines are required to pay. The fund is managed by Zurich Airport Ltd. and is governed by its own regulations. An AZNF committee oversees how the funds are used. All revenues and expenditures are transparently reported in the annual report.

• Go to the Annual Report

Until the end of 2020, all revenues from noise charges were allocated to the AZNF. According to current knowledge, the AZNF is sufficiently funded under existing legal provisions to cover all known future costs defined by its purpose. For this reason, revenues have since been assigned to the aviation segment.

• Sound insulation measures for buildings
• Noise monitoring systems
• Noise compensation
• AZNF

Noise charges are to create targeted incentives for quieter aviation. The goal is to motivate airlines to operate more modern and quieter aircraft.

This financial steering mechanism promotes the use of low noise technologies and procedures at Zurich Airport, which in the long term contributes to a further reduction in aircraft noise exposure.