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Rewinding of runway 28

Zurich to receive a new taxiway for better safety

Zurich Airport wants fewer aircraft to have to cross the central runway on their way. This is to be done via a new taxiway.

This is how it worked before corona and this is how it will be afterwards: Flight LH1182 from Frankfurt usually lands on runway 14/32 at Zurich Airport, after which the Airbus A320 rolls to a gate at Dock A. However, it still has one obstacle to overcome: It must cross runway 10/28, where short- and medium-haul flights take off.

Following a serious incident in 2011, experts from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA concluded that «the roughly 100,000 runway crossings per year pose an increased safety risk». And they considered how it could be reduced. They presented the idea of a new taxiway at Zurich Airport.

Building gone, bog gone

The new taxiway will be built at the end of runway 14/32 and will run around it. In addition, new taxiways are to be built (see diagram). But there are two problems. This will only be possible if army buildings and the buildings of the Swiss Air Rescue and the business jet provider Execujet are demolished.

In addition, the new taxiway would run through a protected bog. Even if the parties involved want to create a new moor elsewhere – there is a good chance that there will be objections to the project, which is called Runway 28 Rewinding, not only for noise reasons but also for environmental reasons. From May 25 to June 23, the plans will now be made public, as announced on Tuesday (May 19).

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