Visiting Zurich

It’s always been a dream to fly to bigger airports, this time a country I’ve never visited; Switzerland. There were two choices to choose from that I fancied for my visit, Zurich or Geneva. Deciding between the both of them is a tough one, no doubt about it. They are both similar, but Geneva is smaller and the rivers and lakes that run through each figure heavily into their appeal.

Switzerland is often described as a “heaven on Earth” due to its stunning natural beauty, picturesque landscapes with alpine snow peaks and high quality of life – but it’s also very expensive, even more expensive than Scandinavia. The plan has been to fly to of Geneva or Zurich for the last couple of years so it was finally a ‘Dream come true’ to have the possibility come true.

For a flight direct from the UK, you can only enter Switzerland through the following airports: Geneva Airport & Zurich Airport. Having done any necessary weight & balance, and winds calculated for both directions of the flight we worked out that you could do this flight directly easily without any stops, and this is both more economical and financially more productive.

I had seen previously that MFGZ are the recommended handler for private/general aviation handling. They offer a low-cost solution for the compulsory handling of general aviation customers at Zurich Airport.

We emailed them with our details but were informed of some restrictions and couldn’t be given a slot till nearer the time. A few phone calls had to happen as the email may have not ended up in the inbox, but we managed to get the ball rolling.

Laura handled the accommodation search, and we would stay with an Air BNB in Alt Weidikon. This was ideal as it would come with 3 sleeping spaces. A double bed to share plus a sofa bed, and was an attic loft conversion with an upstairs rooftop with a great view of the local area. The building itself is centrally located in a residential area and is served with direct connections to the main station, the lake and other points of interest.

We would arrive fairly late on the Friday and check out by 11 am on the Sunday for an afternoon flight back to the UK. The Air BNB we stayed at is listed in the below link.

Due to work commitments, we could only depart Stapleford at 1445z (15:45L), arriving in Zurich by 1845z (20:45L) – coincidentally this worked with the airport giving us a slot. This was a great feeling, considering we were informed the previous few days – due to strong winds, Zurich Airport was reduced to single runway operations and thus Category A aircraft are banned from using the airport, as the flow is restricted.

I had set off to the airport and arrived roughly 2 hours before departure. I awaited the aircraft to arrive which had set off earlier this morning for lunch, it returned and I quickly hurried over to the aircraft to prep for the 4-hour sector to Zurich.

I had ordered fuel, fitted the oxygen bottle that was refilled after the previous trip and began the preparations to taxi the aircraft over to the clubhouse for the sector. My friends, who would be my passengers for this trip to Zurich had arrived and were awaiting boarding at the clubhouse.

The flight to Zurich was relatively smooth, flying out via Dover, across to the south of Brussels, overhead Luxembourg towards German Airspace, and passing Strasbourg, due south of Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, where I’d flown the previous year. A lot of preparation and thought goes into these flights, and it makes it easier to navigate the airway system. After 3 and a half hours, we started planning which arrival and runway we would be landing on at Zurich and thus started checking the weather, looking at the preferred runway for the airport for the time of day, which appeared to be runway 14. A listen to the ATIS confirmed this, as the runway was in use closer to the time.

We had made it to Zurich.

Whilst editing the vlog for the outbound flight, I quickly realised how distracting my passengers were and began to look into a fix, or a procedure I could develop that would enhance my flying when carrying passengers, especially those who aren’t seasoned flyers in general aviation. After publishing the video and receiving some comments, I looked into my checklist and discovered that my updated version didn’t include something that I had developed in my training checklist.

I strive to improve my own safety and develop tools that can ensure a safe flight at all times, and have developed briefs and continue to develop them in a specific format that will enhance safety. Such as the pre-flight brief or as known in the commercial operations at BA – the interactive briefing between pilots and cabin crew.

Part of Standard Operating Procedures includes conducting thorough pre-flight preparation and conducting effective briefings. The use of briefings is to understand the desired sequence of events and actions and thus achieve the safety and efficiency benefits of good flight preparation.

Highlighting the steep learning curve created by this flight, I included an AIDE MEMOIR for the pre-flight brief as attached here.

You can read more/discuss in my thread of Implementing SOPs which I look to update in the near future.

We had arrived in Zurich for our short stay. Once the aircraft was tidied up, covered and prepared for the next few days of stay at the airport, we were driven barely 50 meters to the offices for the handler, to register any final details and then clear customs and have passports checked for our stay in Zurich. This was a barely 10-meter drive before we were then given instructions on how to walk to the main passenger terminal.

From the main passenger terminal, we would take a train to our Air BNB. This involved a short change at the Main station (Zürich Hauptbahnhof/Zurich HB). This is one of the busiest stations in Europe, and we had time for our connection we went to a local shop and got some beers that we could walk around with and enjoy on the train.

We took our further connection from ZB to Zürich Wiedikon railway station and walked the short distance to our Air BNB. This was roughly 12 minutes walk from the station, and is a great connection into the main city, either by walking or public transportation.

We spent Saturday taking in the sights as much as we could, walking around and chilling, exploring the old town, and looking for some good photography spots. We spent most of the day drinking and eating good food. We slowly walked back to our apartment, not knowing the fate of our next day would be completely changed by the weather gods and the shock to the system this was, with having to change our plans (for me, the first time away from home).

We received a very early call, but before 09:00 (so missed it as my phone was silenced) – I phoned it back and it was the Handlers, sadly with very bad news. Due to the strong winds forecast, see weather above for 11th – ATC decided to restrict Category A operations during our slot, which meant if we did depart it would be with low light and forecast severe thunderstorms on our route, landing either at sunset or just before. The other alternative was to call up ATC and see if they could get us out, but this meant packing completely, heading to the airport getting ready to go finding out we couldn’t then having to find accommodation again.

This meant an extra day in Zurich, but it was well worth it as we could enjoy ourselves just that bit extra. This meant whatever we didn’t do on the Saturday, we would do on the Sunday—more drinking, spending time on the lake on boats before having an early evening back at our accommodation for the early start.

The original departure was 1425z (16:25L) on the Sunday. We went for the earliest departure possible on Monday morning that was available for CAT A, and this was 0620z (0820L) which meant that we would arrive by 1130L, enough time for me to get to work on time (Sadly this was not possible for my friends who would have to have started Monday AM).

This is something to bare in mind if you ever visit Zurich Airport. Whilst it was a great trip, we were gladly on our way back to the UK, after a delay of almost 24 hours.

For the flight home it was relatively calm, good flying weather but with forecast Thunderstorms near Paris and some building later that day in the UK. As we got airborne we could finally see the Alps in the distance. It was a shame the previous days were very hazy, but the heat storms must have cleared all the air.

It was great to finally fly to Switzerland, and of all places Zurich. Sadly this is one of the most expensive cities in the world and although the views and vibrancies were great, it wouldn’t be a regular visit for me by General Aviation, least with the unpredictability of the airport’s operation with the slightest winds or bad weather, changing the whole dynamic of the operation and forcing Category ‘A’ aircraft out of the slot system.

Nonetheless, don’t let that impact your judgement in choosing Zurich as a destination of choice, and take in probably some of the most breathtaking scenery and views in the Western world. Be prepared for some last-minute changes, especially in planning and how it may affect your ability to fly home. For sure if I could do it again, I would plan a bit better where to eat out and have a plan of places to visit.

You can read the in-depth blog over at – along with the costs associated with such a trip – Visiting Zurich | The Flying VLOG