Zurich airport’s public areas will undergo a revamp over the next few years, with more spacious passenger routes, new retail spaces and a food hall in the works.

The CHF 250 million project will begin next month (November 2022), following a delay due to the pandemic, with the multi-stage renovation set to be completed by 2026.

The airport says that the renovation will help “better handle passenger and commuter flows”, with over 100,000 people using the public spaces daily.

For instance, the convergence point of the airport shopping areas with Check-in 1 and Arrival 1 will be expanded in order to eliminate the current bottleneck situation.

Additionally, delivery vehicles for land- and airside retail and catering establishments will be routed directly from Flughafenstrasse via a new underground channel to take pressure off the curbside lanes.

The project will also see the retail areas expanded by around one third, along with additional “spacious zones with seating”.

A 2,000 sqm 12-metre high food hall, meanwhile, will be located between car parks P1 and P2 on the bus terminal level.  The lower level will feature “15 or so different food stalls and food trucks”, and a gallery will provide a quieter area with an outdoor terrace and planted side terraces.

Lydia Naef, chief real estate officer of Flughafen Zurich AG, commented:

“The redesign of the pedestrian routes will result in a qualitative and quantitative improvement for all users who use the trains, buses, car parks and Terminals 1 and 2. The Circle will also be connected in an intuitive and seamless manner to Airport Shopping and can be reached without getting wet.”

Earlier this summer Zurich airport announced plans for what it says “will probably be the largest airport dock built largely of wood”.

Zurich airport’s new Dock A to be “built largely from sustainable wood”

flughafen-zuerich.ch/en