Zurich Airport

Flughafen Zürich AG is a listed company with a strong anchor shareholder, the Canton of Zurich, which also holds the power of veto in the event of important changes to the runway system and operating regulations. Flughafen Zurich AG is a successful, well-positioned company and at the same time an infrastructure provider of national importance. Flughafen Zürich AG today is the owner and operator of the important national airport of Zurich which has established itself as an important hub in European air traffic with a global network. It is also a service-oriented company, an international competence center for the development and operation of airports in countries like India or Brazil, but most importantly as a driving force for the economic development of the Zurich region and Switzerland as a whole. While good business results and excellent international evaluations and rankings attest the company's success, the critical attitude of parts of the population toward noise emissions and, increasingly, the climate impact of air traffic, pose significant challenges for the airport's management. In addition, the near-total collapse of air traffic during the 2020 pandemic along with the unexpectedly fast recovery following the year 2022 challenged operational management like cash and finance management or management of passenger flows. These challenges and current difficulties highlight to which extent management finds itself operating in an area of tension between business optimization and political legitimization while maintaining high standards in environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic role for the region and nation.