Britain was a close second, with 2.89 million passengers departing from Swiss airports.
Germany (1.5 million), Portugal (1.49 million), France (1.36 million) and Italy (1.35 million) follow in the ranking of the most popular air destinations, according to data published on Wednesday by the FSO. In total, 79% of Swiss passengers flew to European destinations.
The departure airport has a strong influence on the choice of destinations, notes the FSO. From Zurich, four times as many passengers flew to Germany as to France, while in Geneva the trend is reversed.
Outside Europe, 8% of passengers flew to Asia, an equal percentage to the Americas (North, Central and South), 5% to Africa and 0.4% to Oceania.
Seasonal trends
July remains the busiest month, with 2.6 million departures, in line with the usual trend. Conversely, January and November are quieter, with around 1.5 million passengers each.
Passenger volumes vary greatly according to season and destination. According to the FSO, destinations such as Cape Town (South Africa) and Phuket (Thailand) are particularly popular in winter, while Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca (Spain) and Crete (Greece) are more popular between April and October.
In total, 24 million passengers took off from a Swiss airport in 2024. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2019, this figure reached 25 million.
Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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