Zurich Airport

Continent: Europe

Country: Switzerland

Zurich Airport
Location	Zurich, Switzerland
IATA code	ZRH
ICAO code	LSZH
Airport type	Commercial
Website	http://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch
Overview map	[ ]
Communications
Tower	118.1
Ground	121.850 (North) 121.750 (South)
Clearance	121.800
Approach	118.000 (West via GIPOL) 120.750 (North/East) via AMIKI/RILAX 119.700 125.325 Final (rarely used):
Departure	125.950
ATIS	128.525 (phone: +41438162294)
Plane Spotting Hotels guide

Zurich airport is the only airport of the city of Zurich, the Swiss centre of finance and economy. The airport is located about 10 kilometers northeast of the city and can easily be reached by car, bus or train.

Today there are about 100 airlines offering almost 150 connections to every continent in the world except Australia. 17.3 million passengers were handled in 2004. In 2003 the new terminal, terminal E, also called "Midfield", was opened. Three runways, most of which are equipped with an ILS-system are providing a smoothly running service.

Runways, Terminals and their usage

Runways

Runway:	Length:	Equipment:	Usage:	In use:	Diagram:
10	2500m	-	Departing runway with winds from the east. No landings	rare
14	3300m	ILS	Main landing runway, no takeoffs	always
16	3700m	ILS	Main departing runway for heavies, rarely a landing	frequently
28	2500m	VORDME	Main departing runway, landings in the evening	always
32	3300m	-	Departing runway in the morning, no landings	rare
34	3700m	ILS	Landing rwy morning, sometimes heavy-TOs	medium

Because of many people living around the airport are complaining about the noise, the airport authority had to make a detailed concept of runway usage. It is listed in the following table. Of course changes can be made because of reasons like weather, so I recommend listening to the ATIS (128.525) before going spotting.

Weekdays (Mo-Fr)	Weekend, public holidays in southern Germany
06.00-07.00 Landing Rwy34 Departure Rwy32 07.00-21.00 Landing Rwy14 Departure Rwys 16&28 21.00-00.30 Landing Rwy28 Departure Rwys32&34	06.00-09.00 Landing Rwy34 Departure Rwy32 09.00-20.00 Landing Rwy14 Departure Rwys 16&28 20.00-00.30 Landing Rwy28 Departure Rwys32&34

Terminals and parking stands

The terminal area. Cutout of Spotting-Points graphic below

At Zurich airport there are three Terminals, Terminal 1 (former A), Terminal 2 (former B), Terminal E (former Midfield).

In the table below is listed which airplanes can be seen in which area.

Terminal 1 (A)		This terminal is mostly used by Swiss for its European destinations using A32X and ARJ. All longhaul flights by Swiss (A332/A343) have moved to Terminal E. Some other European carriers can be found here, for example British Airways. Best view from: Spotting Points 1 and 2
Terminal 2 (B)		Terminal 2 was closed when Terminal E was opened and the finger docks were demounted. In recent years the interior was used for events, but a complete reconstruction is starting in order to meet criteria for Schengen/non-Schengen traffic. As of Summer 2008, no more longhaul aircraft are being parked at Terminal 2 during the day. Due to a new fence erected for the construction work, only regional aircraft from LX, LH and AF are being parked next to Terminal 2; those longhaul aircraft that used to be parked here throughout the morning now use the cargo apron on the opposite side of runway 16/34. Terminal 2 will be shortened in order to make space for a dual taxiway and will receive an additional level in order to seperate arriving from departing passengers. Note, that from end of October 2008 onwards, the observation deck on Terminal 2 is scheduled to be closed for the time of reconstruction. The airport is said to provide enhanced access to the observation deck on Terminal E by bus (details to follow in time). From what was disclosed by local staff, a observation deck will be part of the remodelled Terminal 2, but likely it will be enclosed in glass. Best view from: Spotting Point 1
Terminal E (Midfield)		The terminal opened in 2003 is the point where all longhaul flights are handled. (Swiss, Emirates, Singapore, Malaysian, United, American, Delta, Continental, Air Canada, Korean, JAL). Gates are also used by charter airlines (Edelweiss, Belair, Air Berlin, ...). Best view from: Spotting Point 2, but only the aircraft on the western side of the terminal which is about 1/3 of all aircrafts.
Mike-Stands		South of Terminal 2 there are the Mike-Stands (designated C and D but served by Taxiway Mike). These are stands served by bus. On these stands mostly medium airliners (A32X, B737, MD8X) from Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian and Iberia can be spotted. Best view from: Spotting Point 1 (a little far away) and 5

ATC

Using an airband receiver can be very helpful to know what's going on. Luckily using airband receivers in Switzerland is allowed and police ignores it. I have never had any problems and there are many enthusiasts using airband receivers here. I recommend listening to the tower because it is the most used frequency and you know about every landing and takeoff that is being performed. Frequencies are listed at the beginning of this article.

There are different streams of Zurich-ATC at LiveATC.net

Stereo-Feed of Lower/Upper-Radar
Feed of Tower, Arrival, Departure

Spotting Locations

Spotting-Map

In Zurich there are plenty of spotting positions some of which are really excellent. I designed a layer with all spotting-points for "Google Earth". Download (1,3KB)

The spotting-tips below refer to the numbers shown on the graphic on the right.

The first points (point 1 - point 5) are located at the airport. You can get there by car, by bus or by train. Public transport is very well organised around the airport, the train station is located right in the airport, the bus terminal in front of the building. There are trains from Zurich Main station (Zurich HB) to the airport about every 15 minutes. The airport is an important bus-hub for the whole region.
Check PT-Timetable

Position 1: Observation Deck Terminal 2

The observation deck which is located on the roof of the whole terminal 2 is probably the most famous spotting point, because it is easy to reach, you have a great view on the planes as well as a restaurant. Since terminal 2 has been shut down there isn't so much action anymore - nevertheless the observation deck remains an excellent spotting point, for example to watch the outbounds on rwy16. The entrance fee is 2 francs, the location is open from 08.00-21.00 in the summer (27.3.-31.10) and 09.00-18.00 in the winter (1.11.-26.3.) At the entrance to the observation desk there is a safety check like for normal passengers, but there are no restrictions for liquids. Tickets can be bought in the kiosk right beside the entrance. Official homepage of the observation deck

Getting there: In the airport: Follow the signs to terminal 2 or "observation desk"
Equipment: Large observation desk with a shop, a restaurant, toilets, children's playground. Ticket shop for bus tours
Visible: Departures Rwy16, landings&departures Rwy34, aircraft taxiing on Echo, aircraft parked at terminal 2
Zoom: Je nach Perspektive. 100-300mm für Rwy16-TOs und Rwy34-Landungen, 50-150mm für E-taxiing, 17-100 für Flugzeuge am Terminal
Time: early morning until 1-2 pm
Example shots:

Landing Rwy34

Acfts in front of the deck and at HP Rwy16

Takeoffs Rwy16

Acft parked at Term.2

Acft taxiing on Echo

Position 2: Observation Deck Terminal E (Midfield)

When planning the new terminal they seem to have thought of the visitors and included an observation desk. This one is located on the western end of the roof, and you have access to about 1/3 of the terminal.
This observation desk can only be reached by bus departing from the obs-deck terminal 2 (Point 1) on Wednesdays (13.15-16.45) and on the weekend (11.45-16.45) every 30 minutes. Adolescents (6-16 years) have to pay 2 franks for a ticket, adults 4 franks. Tickets can be bought at the ticket office on the observation deck Terminal 2 (point 1)
On this observation deck you have a great view on foreign heavies and you are nearer to departures on Rwy28, although you might be facing into the sun. Furthermore, you have an excellent view onto Rwy16/34!
Official Homepage

Getting there: Get to point 1, buy a ticket and do a bus-ride.
Equipment: Quite a large area, equipped with vending machines and toilets
Visible: Aircrafts at terminal E, Takeoffs Rwy28, 16, 34, aircrafts taxiing to Rwy16
Zoom: Depending on the target. 100-300mm for TOs, 17-100mm for parked aircraft
Time: early morning until 3pm
Example shots:

Regular Traffic

Because of Zurich being quite an important international HUB there are some interesting planes around waiting to be spotted. Besides the big European carriers which usually send their standard medium equipment to Zurich, many big carriers from other continents can be seen here arriving with their heavies. Some of these are: American, Continental, Delta, Emirates, JAL, Malaysian, Singapore, Thai, United. In addition to that you have the Swiss lognhaul-fleet (9 A332 + 9 A343) as well as the heavies of local charter airlines Edelweiss (1 A332) and Belair (1 B763) which you don't see that often in Europe. To be up to date in terms of traffic the best thing is to have a look at the official online timetable which even displays the registrations!

[1]Arrivals

[2]Arrivals next day (avail. from 1900LT)

[3]Departures

[4]Departures next day (avail. from 1900LT)

Download Winter-Timetable 05/06 as PDF

The following table covers the heavies of the Summer flightplan 2005. It is not accurate anymore and simply intended to give you an impression of what's going on at Zurich.

Airline	Callsign	From/To	Arrival:	Departure:	Aircraft	Days: (1=Monday)
Air Canada	ACA787/879	Toronto	10.05	11.40	B763	1234567
American	AAL64/65	NY JFK	10.45	13.00	B763	1234567
American	AAL36/37	Dallas	07.55	10.20	B763	1234567
Continental	COA78/79	Newark	08.40	10.45	B762	1234567
Delta	DAL66/67	Atlanta	08.30	10.30	B763	1234567
Emirates	UAE087/088	Dubai	13.20	15.45	A345/A343	1234567 (A343: 1+3)
JAL	JAL451/452	Tokyo NRT	15.55	17.50	B744	1--4-6-
Korean	KAL917/918	Seoul	18.25	20.25	A332	-2-4-6-
Malaysian	MAS10/9	Kuala Lumpur	06.15	12.50	B772	-2-4-6-
Singapore	SIA346/345	Singapore	06.30	13.25	B773	1234567
South African	SAA274/275	Johannesbourg	07.07	20.25	A342	1234567
Swiss	SWR16/17	NY JFK	08.15	10.00	A332/A343	1234567
Swiss	SWR52/53	Boston	08.15	13.00	A332/A343	1234567
Swiss	SWR40/41	Los Angeles	15.55	12.50	A343	dep: 1-3456- arr: -2-4567
Swiss	SWR96/97	São Paulo	11.05	22.30	A343	dep: -234-67 arr: 1-3456-
Swiss	SWR8/9	Chciago	08.35	12.50	A332	1234567
Swiss	SWR86/87	Montreal	06.20	12.55	A332	1234567
Swiss	SWR272/273	Duala via Malabo	06.15	09.45	A332	dep: -2-4- arr: -3-5-
Swiss	SWR276/277	Yaounde via Malabo	06.25	12.15	A332	dep: -6- arr: -7-
Swiss	SWR288/289	Johannesbourg	06.10	22.20	A343	dep: 123-567 arr: 1234-67
Swiss	SWR292/293	Dar es Salam via Nairobi	06.25	09.45	A332	dep: 1-3-5 arr: -2-4-6
Swiss	SWR236/237	Cairo	19.10	09.45	A343	-234-67
Swiss	SWR254/255	Tel Aviv	19.15	09.50	A343	1234567
Swiss	SWR228/229	Jeddah via Riyadh	06.20	12.40	A332	dep: 2-4-7 arr: 3-5-1
Swiss	SWR242/243	Muscat via Dubai	06.25	1240	A332	1234567
Swiss	SWR154/155	Mumbai/Bombay	06.20	10.00	A332	1234567
Swiss	SWR168/169	Tokyo NRT	15.55	13.05	A343	dep: 12-4567 arr: 123-567
Swiss	SWR138/139	Hong Kong	06.20	22.20	A343	1234567
Swiss	SWR182/183	Singapore via Bangkok	06.25	22.20	A343	dep: -234567 arr: 12-4567
Thai	THA970/971	Bangkok	07.10	13.30	A346/A343	1234567 (A346: 2-4-6)
United	UAL936/937	Wash. D.C.	08.10	11.45	B763	1234567

Links

Until this article is finished, please take a look at the detailed spotting-description on www.planepics.org

• ZRHwiki on Zurich International Airport (ZRH/LSZH)
• Zurich Planespotting Timetables Live flights, weather reports, runway usage, lighting conditions.