Geneva Airport

Geneva Airport represents the international facility of the second-most populous city in Switzerland. The facility is located approximately 4 kilometers northwest of the Geneva center. GVA surpassed the 15 million passengers mark for the first time in 2014. The property serves as a hub for EasyJet Switzerland and Swiss International Air Lines.

Geneva Airport

Geneva Airport represents the international facility of the second-most populous city in Switzerland. The facility is located approximately 4 kilometers northwest of the Geneva center. GVA surpassed the 15 million passengers mark for the first time in 2014. The property serves as a hub for EasyJet Switzerland and Swiss International Air Lines.

Geneva Airport lies entirely within Swiss territory. However, its northern limit runs on the Swiss-French border so that the facility can be accessed from both countries. The freight operations can also be located from both countries, making Geneva a European Union freight hub, even though Switzerland is not a member of the EU. The facility is partially in the municipality of Le Grand-Saconnex and partly in the city of Meyrin.

Early years

An airfield was established in 1919 in Cointrin, near the city of Geneva, covering an area of 54 hectares (130 acres). From 1926 to 1931, the wooden sheds of the airfield were substituted by three concrete hangars. At the time, there was not much air traffic, with Lufthansa flying from Berlin to Barcelona via Geneva, Halle, Leipzig, and Marseille. By 1930, six airlines flew to Geneva Airport on seven different routes.

1937 saw the formation of the first concrete runway, which measured 405 by 21 meters (1,329 by 69 ft).

During World War II, the Swiss authorities canceled all flights from Switzerland, but an expansion of the facility led to extending its area and the main runway. Additional 200 meters (660 ft) of the track was added near the end of the war as well as plan for future expansion to a length of 2,500 meters (8,200 ft).

Later Geneva was identified as one of four main urban airports that were to form the first tier of that system. Cointrin was perceived as being well suited for extension and did not need a triangular runway arrangement. Authorities agreed to a 2.3 million Swiss Francs plan to establish the first terminal in the city, and in 1946 the new terminal – which is currently used as Terminal 2 – was ready for use. The runway was expanded once more to 2000 m. In 1947 the very first service to New York began with a Swissair Douglas DC-4. In 1959, the first jet aircraft landed in the city, a SAS Caravelle, and it was followed 11 years later by a TWA Boeing 747, which landed in 1970.