Zurich Airport is planning to make slight adjustments to its runway system, which has remained unchanged since 1976. Based on a comprehensive safety review of operating procedures, a 400-meter westward extension of the current 2,500-meter runway 28 and a 280-meter northward extension of the 3,300-meter runway 32 are direly needed. When runways are wet, pilots of certain long-haul aircraft request a southerly approach to the 3700-meter runway 34 during the curfew periods for using German airspace because the 2500 meters on runway 28 are not sufficient for them. It is therefore a question of increasing the availability of the runways concerned and not their capacity. With the extended runways, flight operations can be handled more efficiently, reliably and safely. In addition, the last long-haul take-offs before 23:00 would be from runway 32 – today, these aircraft have to taxi to runway 34, which takes five to ten minutes. The political process is already underway, with the Zurich Cantonal Council has addressed the issue on 31 March. A referendum is expected to take place in 2024.
NZZ online 31.03.2023
SRF News 31.03.2023