Zurich Airport achieved a significant success in 2024: 46 percent of all passengers, employees and visitors used public transport to travel to and from the airport.
This is the highest share since surveys began and marks the first achievement of the target set in the Sectoral Plan for Aviation Infrastructure (SIL) for 2030. The most recent modal split survey, conducted last year, shows a continuous increase in the share of public transport compared to previous measurements. This success underscores Zurich Airport's role as a central transport hub and reflects changing mobility behavior, although challenges remain with off-peak travel.
A goal achieved ahead of schedule: The importance of the Sectoral Plan for Aviation Infrastructure (SIL)
The Sectoral Plan for Aviation Infrastructure (SIL) is an important federal planning instrument in Switzerland that governs the long-term development of aviation infrastructure. A specific target was set for Zurich Airport within the framework of the SIL: By 2030, at least 46 percent of all passengers using the airport should arrive by public transport. This ambitious goal, which highlights the importance of integrated transport planning, was already achieved in 2024. The measured public transport share of 46 percent refers to the bimodal modal split, which excludes bicycle and pedestrian traffic and thus focuses on the use of motorized transport – cars versus public transport.
The fact that this target was achieved six years earlier than planned is a clear sign of the effectiveness of the measures implemented so far and the attractiveness of public transport at Zurich Airport. It also demonstrates the importance of such clearly defined targets for ensuring the sustainable development of the infrastructure and efficiently managing traffic flows. Flughafen Zürich AG has been conducting these modal split surveys regularly since 1994 to monitor compliance with the requirements and document the development of travel behavior. The survey planned for 2021 was suspended in consultation with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as passenger numbers fluctuated significantly during this period. With the return of passenger numbers to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, the survey could again be conducted under representative conditions.
Development of public transport share and user groups in detail
The results of the 2024 modal split survey demonstrate a continuously positive trend over time. Since the last complete survey in 2017, the share of public transport has increased by two percentage points, from 44 percent to 46 percent. This increase is largely due to a change in the population's mobility behavior: More and more people are consciously choosing to use public transport for their journeys to and from the airport. This could be due to a combination of improved infrastructure, increased frequency of connections, and a general trend toward more environmentally conscious modes of transport.
The detailed analysis according to specific user segments provides further interesting insights:
- Departing passengers: Fifty-eight percent of departing airline passengers use public transport. This demonstrates a high level of acceptance of public transport as the first step of a flight, which often involves carrying a lot of luggage.
- Visitors: The largest user group choosing public transport are airport visitors, 63 percent of whom use public transport. This includes, for example, people visiting shops or restaurants at the airport or seeing off friends and family.
- Airport staff: A large proportion of airport employees also commute by public transport. 51 percent of airport staff use public transport for their commute, although this proportion is higher among employees with regular office hours than among those who work shifts. The need to travel during off-peak times, when public transport options may be more limited, forces some employees to use their cars.
- Accompanying persons (pick-up persons): An exception is the group of escorts, for example, those who pick up arriving travelers. 92 percent of these travelers arrive by car. This is understandable, as picking up passengers often requires carrying luggage and the flexibility of a car, especially in the event of unforeseen flight delays.
Despite the overall positive trend, there are still groups of people who are absolutely dependent on their car due to their location or during off-peak times. This poses a challenge for further increasing the share of public transport.
Zurich Airport as a central transport hub: infrastructure and funding
The success in increasing the share of public transport is not accidental, but the result of a targeted strategy and excellent infrastructure. Zurich Airport is exceptionally well served by various public transport options:
- Train: The airport has its own train station, located directly beneath the terminal building, offering excellent connections to the Swiss railway network. Numerous intercity, regional, and commuter train lines connect the airport directly to Switzerland's largest cities and neighboring regions.
- Bus: A dense network of bus lines connects the airport with the surrounding communities and cities.
- Glattal Railway: The Glattalbahn, a modern tram system, provides efficient connections to the Glattal region and neighboring districts of Zurich.
This excellent accessibility is a key factor in the attractiveness of public transport. Furthermore, the success is due to the "targeted promotion of public transport." This can be achieved, for example, through attractive fares, improved frequency, and good integration of the various modes of transport. In 2024, Zurich Airport counted around 30 million public transport users, of whom around 20 percent were purely transfer passengers who used the airport as a hub for their onward journey without using it as the starting or destination point of their flight. With a total of 31,2 million air passengers, Zurich Airport is one of the most important transport hubs in Switzerland and even Europe. These figures illustrate the enormous importance of the airport for mobility in the country.
Challenges and outlook: Keeping the modal split stable
Despite the early achievement of the SIL target, the airport operator, the public sector, and public transport providers remain challenged. The challenge now is not only to maintain the high modal split achieved until 2030, but to even increase it in light of the expected traffic growth. The projected traffic growth across all modes of transport, driven by economic and population development, is expected to be disproportionately borne by public transport. This means that the share of public transport in relation to total traffic must continue to grow to relieve road congestion and ensure accessibility.
To achieve this, a "targeted optimization of accessibility by public transport from the catchment area of Zurich Airport" is still required. This could include investments in the expansion of the rail and bus network, a more frequent schedule, the development of new attractive offers for shift workers and those arriving at off-peak times, and the promotion of intermodal travel options. It is also important to further enhance the attractiveness of public transport through improved comfort and a seamless travel chain. Collaboration between the various stakeholders – Flughafen Zürich AG, cantons, municipalities, and public transport companies – will be crucial to mastering these future challenges and securing Zurich Airport's leading position as an easily accessible transport hub. Continuous monitoring and adaptation of strategies based on regular surveys are essential to ensure this success in the long term.
Modal split survey methodology: Data for informed decisions
Determining modal split is a complex undertaking that requires a combination of different data collection methods to obtain an accurate and comprehensive picture of travel behavior. For the 2024 modal split survey at Zurich Airport, several thousand on-site surveys were conducted with passengers, accompanying persons, and visitors. These direct surveys provide valuable information about the modes of transport used, the reasons for their choice, and travel behavior.
In addition, online surveys of airport employees were conducted to analyze their commuting behavior, particularly with regard to working hours and place of residence. These surveys were supplemented by technical data: passenger and vehicle counters provided quantitative information on traffic volumes, while vehicle occupancy observations provided information on the average number of passengers in cars.
The airport operator has been conducting these regular surveys since 1994 to monitor compliance with modal split requirements and to determine the development of the relative share of public transport in the total traffic volume of all airport users. The current survey refers to the SIL definition of modal split, which has been in effect since 2009, ensuring consistent comparability of the data over the years. This robust methodology is crucial for informed decisions in transport planning and development at Zurich Airport.
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