Basel Airport to near-double in size thanks to new megaproject
By Jan de Boer
Basel Airport has announced plans to nearly double in size over the next five years. The third largest airport in Switzerland will be spending 125 million francs on upgrading its terminal, in a bid to improve the passenger experience.
Basel EuroAirport announces new expansion plan
The airport, which is technically in France but is shared by French and Swiss authorities, confirmed that it would nearly double its passenger terminal size in the next five years. Alongside the original 15.000 square metre terminal, a brand new 14.000 square metre building will be constructed alongside.
Among a host of other things, this new building will be used for passenger security checks. The space will also allow the airport to double the size of the publicly accessible terminal area.
Expansion will help improve passenger experience in Basel
In a statement, Basel EuroAirport said the new site will help “improve the quality of service” for passengers. By doubling the size of the terminal, the airport will also likely be able to offer more flights to more destinations - the airport in Geneva for example, which has one more terminal but the same number of runways as Basel, caters to around double the number of passengers.
The news follows a near-record year for EuroAirport, with 8,9 million passengers taking off or landing in Basel in 2024, 10 percent more than in 2023 and only 200.000 passengers below the record set in 2019. The airport is now connected to over 90 different destinations by 30 different airlines, making it the third-busiest airport in Switzerland and the sixth-busiest in France.
In all, the airport is expected to spend 125 million francs on its new terminal, with construction expected to begin in two years. However, the long-awaited plan to better connect the airport to public transport via a new rail link, is not part of the expansion.
Thumb image credit: andreas_naegeli / Shutterstock.com
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more