Zurich Airport has significantly exceeded the forecast of 26 million passengers set at the beginning of 2023. The months in spring in particular were marked by a rapid resurgence in passenger numbers, which continued into October. The return of travel activities was clearly evident in passenger numbers, which, depending on the month, have practically returned to pre-crisis levels. On an annual basis, the full recovery is still expected in 2025. 

The number of aircraft movements in 2023 was 247,456, an increase of 14% compared to 2022, and compared to 2019, the number of aircraft movements is around 90%. In 2023, a total of 377,998 tonnes of cargo were handled at Zurich Airport. Compared to the previous year, this represents a decrease of 10%. Compared to the 2019 freight volume, it is a decrease of 16%. 

Flughafen Zürich AG will report in detail on its business performance for 2023 on 8 March 2024.

Key traffic figures December 2023

In December 2023, 2,194,072 passengers passed through Zurich Airport, corresponding to an increase of 15% compared to last year. Passenger levels are 94% of those reached in December 2019. 
The number of local passengers was 1,508,049. Transfer passengers amounted to 31%, equal to 680,934 passengers. 

Year on year, air traffic movements increased by 7% to 18,888 take offs or landings. A monthly comparison shows that air traffic movements are at 94% of the 2019 level. The average passenger per movement figure increased to 133 (+5% vs. previous year). The average seat load factor was at 77% (same value as previous year). 

A total of 34,688 tons of freight were transported at Zurich Airport during the month of December. This led to an increase of 2% in freight volume compared to last year. Compared to December 2019, freight volume decreased by 10%.