BBC Overnight Programming 10:00pm - 6:00am

Listen Live

Search

New airport wing opens quietly

Wednesday, 15 December 2021 06:30

The new East Wing building at the airport opened quietly yesterday. Plans for an inauguration ceremony had to be shelved to Covid restrictions.

The first flight from the new section, which is designed for long haul departures, was to New York.

The wing is 520 metres long and when running at full capacity can handle nearly 3,000 passengers an hour. 

It’s taken 10 years to build and cost CHF 610m. 

The airport is keen to stress its environmental impact. It’s triple glazed, power is supplemented by solar panels and it’s heated by pumps. It should be neutral, according to the airport. 

There are hopes a formal opening party can be held in the spring.

Share

More from Bitesize News

  • Lake Geneva steamships at risk

    A majority of National Councillors want the Confederation to step in to rescue Lake Geneva's historic steamships

  • Lausanne prison overcrowding meeting

    A new forum in Lausanne drew more than 500 people over the weekend to debate the Lake Geneva region's record prison overcrowding

  • New motorway faces opposition

    Geneva and five neighbouring communes have filed legal challenges against the A412 motorway in Haute-Savoie, fearing a flood of extra traffic through Rive gauche villages once the road opens

  • Process underway to find new Swiss President

    Guy Parmelin's successor on the Federal Council must be chosen by December, with the UDC under pressure to put forward a woman for only the second time in a quarter-century

  • Weekend Geneva protest

    Around 1,500 people marched through Geneva on Saturday to demand Switzerland impose sanctions on Israel, three years after the 7 October attacks that triggered the Gaza war

  • New app launch in Neuchâtel

    La Chaux-de-Fonds is testing a resident-only 'super-app' built on top of its local currency

Follow WRS

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play