Extensive technical inspections of the flight infrastructure are scheduled at Zurich Airport. Between June 8th and 19th, 2026, special measurement flights will be conducted to officially commission the newly installed glide path transmitter on runway 28.
The flights primarily take place in the afternoon and late evening/night hours, with operations required to be completed by 2:00 a.m. at the latest, according to airport management. The affected system was replaced in the spring as part of the regular modernization of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for the so-called eastward approach and requires precise calibration before regulatory approval.
A twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 350 propeller aircraft will be used to carry out the technical inspections. This aircraft has been specially converted for flight surveying and is equipped with high-precision navigation and measuring instruments that capture and analyze the signals from the new transmitter during the approach profile. The Swiss air navigation service provider Skyguide has overall responsibility for the detailed flight planning and execution. As the flights repeatedly require low passes in close proximity to runway 28, air traffic control is coordinating the schedules closely with regular flight operations to minimize delays.
For safety reasons and due to international aviation regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all components of an instrument landing system must be certified in real-world flight operations before final operational approval. The glide path transmitter is a critical component, as it provides arriving commercial aircraft with the exact vertical descent angle to the runway. Conducting the measurements at night is essential, since regular air traffic is suspended during these hours, allowing the required, precisely defined flight profiles to be flown without safety risks or disruption to commercial air traffic.
Residents in the communities surrounding Zurich Airport were informed in advance about the upcoming nighttime noise emissions. Flight operations will primarily focus on the approach sectors east of the airport. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) is overseeing the entire process and, following successful completion of the measurement data analysis by Skyguide's experts, will issue the formal operating permit for the modernized glide path transmitter, ensuring the system is fully operational by the summer peak.