Top ten European airports

With several Middle East airlines flying to Europe, Aviation Business looks at the continent's leading hubs.

Zürich Airport
(Switzerland)

Zürich Airport is located in Kloten, canton of Zürich, Switzerland and managed by Unique Airport.

It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to national domestic carrier Swiss International Air Lines and Lufthansa.

In 2003, a major expansion project involving a new parking garage, midfield terminal, and automated underground train to move passengers between the existing and new terminal was completed.

Further work was carried out on passenger ramps as part of the airport's expansion stage 5 project.

The renovations were completed two years ago, leading to more efficient operations at departure gates and improved passenger ramp facilities. Plans to modernise other areas such as 70,000 m² of damaged apron surfaces are ongoing.

Traffic at Zürich Airport dropped when carrier Swissair went bust in recent years, although numbers have since picked up with Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) contributing to the recent turnaround.

Indeed, figures for 2006 show more than 19.2 million people travelled through the hub.

The airport's popularity among budget airlines was reinforced when UK low cost carrier easyJet said it would resume a service between Luton and Zürich from this September.

Twice daily services on week days and a single return service on weekends are scheduled. In 2005, easyJet dropped flights to the Swiss city to focus on Basel and Geneva.

Several established airlines use the hub, including Hamburg International, Air Canada and US Airways.

Leipzig-Halle Airport
(Germany)

The hub is the second German airport to make the list, with some 2.34 million passengers in 2006. During the same period, flight movements climbed to 42,333 from 37,905.

Leipzig/Halle Airport celebrated its 70th anniversary in 1997. It was on Easter Monday in 1927 that the airport - which was modern for its time - opened. The hub is based north of the town of Schkeuditz, half way between the cities of Halle and Leipzig Eric Malitzke, managing director of airport operator Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH, reckons the hub is becoming more attractive to airlines.

He added the airport had made a "significant contribution" to tourism and secured new investors.

Aside from passenger growth, Leipzig-Halle also registered more flight arrivals and departures in 2006.

Indeed, Air Berlin extended its service to London and Palma de Mallorca, with connecting flights to 14 destinations in Spain and Portugal.

Meanwhile, TUIfly (formerly HLX) launched services to five new destinations in Germany (Stuttgart, Munich, Dusseldorf, Klagenfurt and Salzburg).

Other carriers to increase flights include Air Berlin, which expanded its Majorca Shuttle service from eight to eleven flights a week; Air France providing twice-daily flights to Paris and Austrian Airlines announcing 18 weekly departures to Vienna. Cargo numbers were also up in 2006 compared with the previous year. The hub was responsible for 29,330 tonnes during the past 12 months - a 143.3% increase with 12,053 tonnes handled in 2005.

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM