In an effort to reduce the number of announcements, Zurich Airport, Switzerland’s busiest, will no longer make announcements in French. From now on, travellers will hear only English and German.
Although French is Switzerland’s second-most spoken national language after German, spokesperson Livia Caluori explained that an analysis of airport user data showed only 1% of travellers used the French version of its services. Based on this information, the airport has decided to limit announcements to enhance passenger comfort. The website is also now available only in German and English.
In February 2025, 2,034,948 PAX passed through ZRH, corresponding to an increase of 1 % compared to last year.
— Zurich Airport (@zrh_airport) March 12, 2025
Total turnover from our commercial partners was CHF 41.1 m, with a decrease of 2.0 % compared to 2024.https://t.co/LPhsxlJt3N pic.twitter.com/A6JS3VipQB
“We are following an international trend. Other airports are also reducing announcements to focus on passenger comfort. However, thanks to new technologies, French-speakers are not completely overwhelmed. Almost all Internet browsers offer integrated translators. This means that a website in English or German can be translated into another language with a single click,” Livia Caluori told the Keystone-ATS agency.
However, one exception will be allowed to the new rule according to Swiss media outlet The Local, regarding boarding announcements for flights to French-speaking airports. If the ground staff don’t speak French, a German and English announcement will suffice. All flight crews working with SWISS or Edelweiss airlines are still required to be fluent in German, French, and English.
The situation at other Swiss aviation firms
Zurich Airport is not the only Swiss aviation company altering its language policies. Swissport, an airport handling company based in Zurich, will also stop making announcements in French from July.
According to spokesperson Nathalie Berchtold, this decision aims to simplify the recruitment process. As skilled labour shortages continue to be a challenge in Switzerland, removing the French language requirement will broaden the pool of candidates.
Based on information from The Local, the only airport in Switzerland to remain trilingual is Basel EuroAirport, which serves Switzerland, France, and Germany. At Geneva Airport, only French and English are used for announcements, although it is unclear whether this is an intentional policy.
