Sion Airport
Sion Airport Aéroport de Sion | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Serves | Sion, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 483 m / 1,585 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 46°13′10.53″N 7°19′36.35″E / 46.2195917°N 7.3267639°E | ||||||||||||||
| Website | sionairport | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
SIR Location of airport in Switzerland | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Source: Statistics from Sion Airport.[1] | |||||||||||||||
Sion Airport[a] (IATA: SIR, ICAO: LSGS) (Military: LSMS) is the airport of the city of Sion, Switzerland[2] and is located 2.5 km southwest of Sion city in the Rhone Valley.[3] The airport opened in 1935.[4]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate seasonal and seasonal charter flights at Sion Airport:[5]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Mountain | Seasonal: Alghero, Calvi, Figari, Saint-Tropez, Southampton |
| Helvetic Airways | Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca[6] |
The nearest larger international airport is Geneva Airport, approx. 110 kilometres (68 mi) to the west, while the smaller Bern Airport is equidistant to the north.
Statistics
Below are the statistics since 2015 according to Sion Airport's Website[7]
| Year | Flights (Movements) | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 41,965 | 31,842 |
| 2023 | 41,925 | 35,929 |
| 2022 | 43,586 | 35,929 |
| 2021 | 41,857 | 25,970 |
| 2020 | 37,348 | 21,698 |
| 2019 | 38,088 | 25,992 |
| 2018 | 41,072 | 32,794 |
| 2017 | 41,218 | 32,477 |
| 2016 | 36,346 | 25,803 |
| 2015 | 40,242 | 32,550 |
Planned Development
To increase regional tourism and economy, the Canton of Valais released a proposed legislation in early 2024 for the Airport. The plan proposed the complete restructuring of the Airport's management and increasing the charter and seasonal flights it operates. It included the creation of a new public-majority company to manage all of the airport's operations.[8] Following a period of consultation, the canton announced on the 27th of March 2024 that it would not follow the draft law. As a consequence, the existing concession held by the City of Sion will remain in effect until 2031, with no immediate reform or expansion project in the works.[9] As of October 2025, Sion Airport still holds some commercial flight. It has been identified as a potential site for sustainable aviation initiatives which include projects with companies like H55 and research institutions such as EPFL and HES-SO.[10]
Military usage
The Swiss Air Force uses Sion as one of their four jetfighter air bases, the others being Payerne, Meiringen and Emmen. It is known as Flugplatzkommando 14 Sion. In addition to the prop-types Pilatus PC-6, Pilatus PC-7, Pilatus PC-9 and Pilatus PC-21 as well as helicopters, it uses Sion intensively with the fighter jets F/A-18 and F-5 Tiger. It is the home base of the militia pilot unit Fliegerstaffel 19 Swans with F-5E. Sion Airport is, at both ends of the runway, equipped with retractable arresting gear devices (used by the F/A-18 and in case of a problem by the F-5).
Due to the redimension of the Swiss Air Force, it was planned that the Air Force would leave Sion after 2017 and Sion would be used by civil aviation only, acting only as alternate airfield for the Air Force.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Kennzahlen und Karte" [Key figures and map]. sionaeroport.ch (in Swiss High German). Sion Flughafen. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ Priceline Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Piste25
- ^ "About Us". Sion Aeroport. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Flights".
- ^ "Palma De Mallorca, Spain PMI". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 27 (1). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 880–886. July 2025. ISSN 1466-8718. OCLC 41608313.
- ^ "Figures and Maps". Sion Aeroport. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Le Valais veut développer l'aéroport civil de Sion". Léman Bleu (in French). 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Le Valais ne développera pas davantage l'aéroport civil de Sion". Blick (in French). 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Swiss aviation pioneer brings electric flights into the present". Swissinfo. 3 June 2017.
- ^ Martino, Mirko (17 September 2015). ""L'aviation militaire à Sion après 2017? Pas exclu"" (in French). 20 Minuten. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
Notes
External links
Media related to Sion Airport at Wikimedia Commons