Newly Swissed felt right at home at ZRH airport amidst the sleek design, crisp typography and occasional red elements guiding travelers along the way. A behind-the-scenes tour courtesy of Christian Leu revealed some lesser known facts about this global hub with connections to no less than 67 countries.
What might be a common size for an airport in other countries is quite a big deal in Switzerland – literally. With a daily traffic flow among passengers and employees equaling the population of the city of St. Gallen, the ZRH airport is actually a city within a city.
The tour essentially highlighted a passenger’s trail from customs to terminal E (which I know in my sleep, sadly):
I was fascinated by the myriad of floors and hallways devised to seal off transferring passengers from those traveling within the Schengen region, as well as those coming from non-Schengen origins…
It was lots of fun to go underneath the terminal to witness the baggage sorting machines and beat up cargo containers…
December 17, 2012 - 10:12 AM
The thing that made the biggest impression on my latest journey out of Zurich airport was the signage syphoning off us lowly Economy passengers from the superior Crew/Priority/Business/First class types. Obviously, when flying one is used to being treated differently as an Economy passenger but somehow I felt my status being highlighted – and not in a good way!