The World Economic Forum in Davos creates the densest annual load on Swiss business aviation. Davos itself has no airport, so the journey always has two parts: a flight to one of the surrounding airports and a road or helicopter transfer into the mountains. Below we cover every field, the slot regime and the logic of planning.
The scale of the week
Ordinary notions of congestion do not apply. Per operational data, in 2025 Zurich recorded days with more than 50 private jet arrivals — roughly 170% above typical winter levels, with over 300 aircraft arriving in the region across the Forum week.
The geography of arrivals is global: the main flow comes from Germany, France, the US, the UK, Russia and the UAE, but flights from Hong Kong and India appear too. Industry observers also note a shift toward larger aircraft — Gulfstream and Global types — partly because of the distances involved.
Zurich: the main gateway
Zurich (ZRH/LSZH) lies about 148–150 km from Davos, which is 90 minutes to two and a quarter hours by road in winter conditions. It is Switzerland's largest airport with full business-aviation infrastructure.
Its main advantage is reliability: more slots are available here than at the alternatives, and weather exposure is minimal. The constraints are a night curfew for private flights from 22:00 to 06:00 and strict slot requirements, meaning the flight plan must match the agreed window precisely.
Samedan, Altenrhein and the others
Samedan-St Moritz (SMV/LSZS) is the closest airport to Davos at around 66–70 km and is dedicated to private aviation. But it is Europe's second-highest airport, and winter weather makes it unreliable — while the road journey to Davos is not much shorter than from Zurich.
St. Gallen-Altenrhein (ACH/LSZR) sits about 120 km away, roughly an hour by road, and offers VIP handling with expedited formalities. Many operators regard it as the best compromise between proximity and reliability.
Friedrichshafen in Germany, Basel-Mulhouse and Geneva are also used, the latter for long-range arrivals and delegations. A special case is the Dübendorf military airfield near Zurich: it opens to private aircraft specifically for the Forum week but has no customs, so it is used mainly for repositioning and parking.
The helicopter as part of the primary plan
In Davos a helicopter transfer is not a fallback but an element of the primary logistics. The flight from Zurich to the Stilli helipad in Davos takes around 30–40 minutes against 90–135 minutes by road, and during the Forum the road journey lengthens with congestion and security checkpoints.
An important procedural detail: all international passengers must clear customs and immigration before boarding the helicopter. This affects the timing calculation and means a helicopter cannot be brought to the aircraft to bypass procedures.
The constraints are weather and airspace. Helicopter operations in winter depend on conditions, and during the Forum restrictions apply in the area requiring advance coordination. So the helicopter is booked together with the flight, not after arrival.
Slots and parking
The week's key constraint. Demand for slots and parking at Zurich and Samedan during the Forum exceeds supply many times over, and after dropping passengers the aircraft is almost always repositioned to another field, returning for the departure date.
This is what Dübendorf, Friedrichshafen, Basel and other regional aerodromes are used for: they take aircraft for parking, relieving the primary fields. The reposition is billed alongside the flight and on a short trip forms a noticeable share of the quote.
Alternative airports are not simple substitutes, however: each has its own operating hours, customs availability, weather exposure and ground transfer complexity. They require the same planning attention as the primary field, sometimes more.
How far ahead to plan
The Forum takes place every January and the dates are known well in advance — a rare case where planning can start months out. Industry practice: slots and parking are reserved as soon as dates are announced, with the helicopter booked alongside.
Trying to arrange a flight a week before the Forum usually ends in compromises: an awkward airport, an awkward time, a long road transfer. Budget does not solve it here — the constraint is physical, not financial.
Flight times
Zurich sits at the centre of the European network: London to Zurich is about 1 hour 15 minutes, Paris to Zurich around an hour, Frankfurt to Zurich about 45 minutes, Milan to Zurich around 50 minutes.
For longer routes: Moscow to Zurich is about 3 hours 30 minutes, Dubai to Zurich around 6 hours, New York to Zurich about 8 hours. London Farnborough to Altenrhein takes around 1 hour 25 minutes, making that pairing a convenient alternative to Zurich.
The environmental context
Davos is the one business-aviation event where transport logistics becomes an annual matter of public debate: the rise in private flights contrasts with the Forum's own climate agenda. Industry publications record the tension regularly.
The industry's practical answer is sustainable aviation fuel, available in Zurich and several European hubs, and optimising repositioning. A separate working tool is empty legs: the aircraft returns to base regardless, and filling an already-scheduled flight adds no new flight.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an airport in Davos itself? No. The nearest is Samedan at around 66–70 km, but on journey time it gains little over Zurich and loses noticeably on reliability.
How long is the drive from Zurich? 90–135 minutes by road in winter conditions; 30–40 minutes by helicopter to the Stilli helipad.
How far ahead should I book? The Forum dates are known well in advance, and slots with parking are reserved as soon as they are announced — months rather than weeks.
Can I land at Dübendorf? The airfield opens to private aircraft for the Forum week but has no customs, so it is used for repositioning and parking rather than passenger arrivals.
Choosing the aircraft and the route
The planning order for Davos is the reverse of the usual: slot and parking first, then the helicopter, and only then the aircraft. Aircraft class is rarely the constraint here — Zurich and Altenrhein accept everything; the constraints are the ground and airspace windows.
JetHunter provides access to more than 5,000 aircraft and works with event routing, where the decisive work is not sourcing the aircraft but coordinating the whole chain — slot, parking, repositioning and the helicopter leg. For the Forum that chain is built in advance, because by January it is no longer available.
«Davos is the one week a year when a helicopter stops being a luxury and becomes part of the primary plan. The drive from Zurich takes ninety minutes on a normal day, and however long it takes during the Forum.»
— Alexey Mordvintsev, CEO of JetHunter
Author: Alexey Mordvintsev, CEO of JetHunter, President of the Association of Professionals of Executive Aviation Industry (APIDA). Over 14 years in the industry.
