Air transport between growth and climate costs
Civil aviation in Switzerland generated direct added value of CHF 9.8 billion in 2024. Total added value amounts to CHF 24.8 billion. Zurich is the most accessible region in Europe. This is according to a report by INFRAS commissioned by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation.
Civil aviation generated direct added value of CHF 9.8 billion in Switzerland in 2024. This includes companies at airports and their suppliers. This is shown in a report prepared by INFRAS AG on behalf of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). At 68 per cent, more than two-thirds of the direct value added is attributable to Zurich Airport and the neighbouring building complex The Circle. Geneva follows with 19 per cent and Basel with 12 per cent.
The total value added, which also includes indirect effects such as tourism in Switzerland, amounts to CHF 24.8 billion.
Civil aviation is also a driver of employment. It directly provides 49,100 full-time equivalent jobs and a total of 150,200 full-time equivalent jobs.
Thanks to its airport, the Zurich region is the most accessible region in Europe. North-western Switzerland ranks sixth, also thanks to Basel Airport, and the Lake Geneva region ranks seventh, thanks to Geneva Airport. The other regions of the country are also among the 15 most accessible of the 284 regions surveyed in Europe.
The report estimates the external costs of civil aviation at CHF 6.1 billion. Of this, CHF 4.6 billion is attributable to the climate and CHF 1.1 billion to upstream and downstream processes.