A technical malfunction has brought the Skymetro underground passenger transport system to a standstill at Zurich Airport.
The driverless train connecting the main terminal with Dock E came to a standstill in the middle of the tunnel beneath the runway. Around 50 passengers, arriving for Zurich, were trapped in the affected carriages. After emergency services were alerted, the airport fire brigade arrived on the scene approximately 20 minutes later and arranged for the orderly disembarkation of the passengers.
The passengers were guided by emergency services through the tunnel via the evacuation route. The walk to the nearest exit was approximately 200 meters and took less than ten minutes. According to the airport operator, the passengers on board were all arriving and bound for Zurich. Therefore, no connecting flights were missed. No one was injured in the incident.
The Skymetro is a cable-driven funicular railway approximately one kilometer long, used for transfers between terminal areas. The system is also known for its visual and acoustic design within the tunnel, which presents passengers with Swiss landscape motifs. After the passengers disembarked, the train could be remotely pulled to the maintenance station via the haul rope, where technicians began inspecting and repairing the defect.
Operational disruptions in automated passenger transport systems at major airports raise questions regarding redundancy and the rapid dissemination of passenger information. While the outage in this particular case had no serious consequences, the incident highlights the dependence of modern airport infrastructure on automated feeder systems. During peak periods, even brief interruptions of these transport routes can lead to delays in passenger flow and congestion in the terminals.