Swissinfo.ch
05 July 2026

Eighty years ago, forests and a moor were cleared to make way for the construction of Zurich Airport’s first runway. Today, around 750 aircraft take off and land at the international airport each day.

A consortium of engineers and architects chose the partly wooded moorland area of the Kloten-Bülach military training area north of Zurich as the site of a new civil airport.

In 1943, the Federal Military Department agreed to relinquish the military training area “in the greater national interest”...

Construction of Zurich Airport began 80 years ago - SWI swissinfo.ch - 05 July 2026

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