Zurich. The all weather gateway to Davos and St Moritz, with the drive planned before you land.
Zurich gathers its business aviation into the General Aviation Centre at Kloten, on the east side of the field, and the terminals are excellent. We plan the departure well inside the 23:30 curfew and the mountain road at its real length, so a January week runs to time.
The terminals
Zurich business aviation, at a glance
- AirportZurich (ZRH / LSZH)At Kloten, about 12 to 13 kilometres north of the centre of Zurich.
- Where private movements goThe General Aviation CentreOn the east side of the airport, between the Cargo East complex and the town of Kloten, with its own approach away from the passenger terminals.
- Curfew23:30 to 06:00The airport is closed to movements overnight and the restriction is applied strictly. Departures are planned well inside it, not up against it.
- HandlingMandatory, through an approved agentHandling is arranged as part of the flight by your operator. It is not something that can be settled on the ramp, or by us.
Ground transport in Switzerland is arranged through operators we know and brief. Odyssey Connections owns its own cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else.
The handlers
Who works at the General Aviation Centre
| Handler | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| Jet Aviation | Based at the General Aviation Centre at Bimenzaeltenstrasse, Kloten, with published hours of about 06:00 to 22:00 daily, immigration and customs on site, lounges, conference rooms and crew facilities. It has operated at Zurich since 1969 and took on the former ExecuJet Zurich terminal and hangars, so it now runs more than one building here. |
| Cat Air Service | A smaller operation inside the General Aviation Centre, formed as a joint venture between Cat Aviation and Air Service Basel, handling crews, passengers and aircraft at Kloten. |
| BHS Aviation | Handling at Zurich, covering ground coordination, refuelling, cleaning, baggage and passenger care. |
Zurich handling has changed hands in recent years, so we reconfirm the terminal and the handler for every movement rather than relying on the last booking. Odyssey Connections claims no commercial relationship with any of these companies.
Planning it
The terminal is the easy part. The mountain is not.
Zurich is the reliable, all weather gateway to eastern Switzerland, and in January it behaves like one. A great many of the people landing here are not staying in Zurich at all. They are going to Davos, Klosters, St Moritz or the Engadin, and that is two to three hours of mountain road after the aircraft door closes behind them. In the week of the economic forum, the road up to Davos is the whole story: security checks, a single valley road and every arrival wanting it at the same hour.
The honest advice is the same as at any Alpine gateway. Move the flight rather than the car where you can, arrive on a weekday rather than into the Saturday wave, and build the drive into the schedule at its real length rather than the figure a mapping app gives for an empty road in June. Where a train leg genuinely beats the car, and on the Landquart to Davos run in a bad week it sometimes does, we will say so.
The curfew deserves separate respect. Zurich is closed to movements between 23:30 and 06:00 and does not make exceptions, and a charter departure has to be slotted comfortably before that. A dinner that overruns in Zurich is not a small problem if the aircraft is due out at 22:45. We plan the return leg backwards from the slot, with the car collecting earlier than feels necessary, because the alternative is an unplanned night in Switzerland.
Onward
Typical drive times from Zurich
| To | Typical drive | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich centre, Paradeplatz and the Bahnhofstrasse | 20 to 30 minutes | 40 to 55 minutes in the rush |
| Zug | 40 to 55 minutes | Longer at either end of the working day |
| Lucerne | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | Straightforward in good weather |
| Bad Ragaz | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | See Swiss longevity clinics |
| Klosters | 2 hours to 2 hours 15 | Longer in snow |
| Davos | 2 hours to 2 hours 30 | 3 hours or more in forum week |
| St Moritz and the Engadin | 2 hours 30 to 3 hours | The pass route is weather dependent |
| Basel | 1 hour to 1 hour 20 | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours when the motorway is busy |
Realistic ranges, not promises. In forum week and at the peak changeover weekends, add an hour or more to anything in Graubünden.
Worth knowing
Winter detail that earns its place
The things an assistant booking a January week into Zurich has to settle.
- Skis, boards and boot bags change the vehicle. Four people with equipment is usually a V-Class, or a saloon with a second car behind it
- Winter tyres and chains are the operator's responsibility on those roads and are not optional. We confirm it rather than assume it
- Plan the departure backwards from the 23:30 curfew, not forwards from dinner. It is the single most common way a Zurich trip goes wrong
- Samedan is far closer to St Moritz when weather and aircraft performance allow, and Sion serves the Valais. We will tell you when one of those is the better answer even though our drive would be shorter
- For forum week in Davos, the road access plan matters more than anything about the terminal. See World Economic Forum, Davos
- If the aircraft is being arranged as well as the car, one enquiry covers both. See private jet charter
Request a quote
Tell us the movement
Date, tail number or operator, the handler if you know it, passengers, luggage and equipment, and the resort or address. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Zurich private terminals
Which handler will I be with?
Your operator chooses, and handling at Zurich is mandatory through an approved agent. They are all at or around the General Aviation Centre, but the buildings and entrances differ, so we confirm the address in writing before the day.
Where is the General Aviation Centre?
On the east side of the airport at Kloten, between the Cargo East complex and the town, with its own road approach away from the passenger terminals.
Can the car meet the aircraft?
It is at the handler's and the airport's discretion and is arranged in advance. Where it is not available, the car waits at the terminal door.
How strict is the night curfew?
Strict. The airport is closed to movements from 23:30 to 06:00 and exceptions are not made, so a late departure has to be slotted well before it.
Is Zurich the right airport for St Moritz?
Often it is the reliable one rather than the closest one. Samedan is much nearer when the weather and the aircraft allow, and we will say so. See ski destinations.
Are these your own cars?
Odyssey Connections owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. In Switzerland the car comes from an operator we know and brief, and we stay responsible for the arrangement.
We deal with problems before you know they exist