Zürich Airport

Geschichte

Zürich Airport, also known as Kloten Airport, is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's largest city, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest of the country. The airport is located 13km north of central Zürich, in the municipalities of Kloten, Rümlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon, all of which are within the canton of Zürich.HistoryEarly yearsThe first flight abroad from Switzerland landed on July 21, 1921. In the early years of aviation, the Dübendorf Air Base, located some 8km to the south-east of Zürich Airport, also served as the city's commercial airfield. The need for a dedicated commercial facility led to the search for a location at which to build a replacement airport. Switzerland's federal parliament decided in 1945 that Zürich was to be the site of a major airport, and sold of the Kloten-Bülach Artillery Garrison (Artillerie-Waffenplatz Kloten-Bülach) to the Canton of Zürich, giving the canton control of the new airfield. Construction of the airport began the following year.