Davos: in Forum week Zurich gives you 2-3 hours on the ground, no more
For four days a year Davos becomes the hardest place in Europe to land near. In World Economic Forum week, at Zurich, an aircraft without approved parking can stay two or three hours: passengers off, then go. In 2025 the Forum added 709 movements to the airport, a 10% increase, and over two years private flights tied to the event tripled. The rest of the year Davos is a quiet resort. That one week is where you win or lose.
Where you actually land
| Airport | ICAO | km | By car | By helicopter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | LSZH | — | — | — |
| Samedan | LSZS | — | — | — |
| St Gallen-Altenrhein | LSZR | — | — | — |
| Friedrichshafen | EDNY | — | — | — |
A dash means no public source publishes that figure. We write the dash instead of estimating it.
The week that changes everything
From 18 to 22 January 2027 the World Economic Forum brings over three thousand delegates to Davos. The effect on aviation is measurable: in 2025 the Forum generated 709 additional movements at Zurich, 10% more than a normal week, and over two years private flights tied to the event tripled. The operational consequence is a rule that applies at Zurich in those days: without approved parking, the aircraft has two or three hours. It disembarks and leaves. Anyone arriving expecting to leave the aircraft there for four days ends up organising an empty repositioning, with the crew to bring back, at the last minute and at peak prices.
What constrains the flight Operating notes written in Italian
- Settimana del World Economic Forum, 18-22 gennaio 2027: a Zurigo, senza parcheggio approvato, la sosta è di 2-3 ore.
- Nel 2025 il Forum ha generato 709 movimenti aggiuntivi a Zurigo, pari a un aumento del 10%. In due anni i voli privati legati all'evento sono triplicati.
- Samedan, l'alternativa engadinese, non ha ILS, non opera di notte e non accetta i jet di categoria antincendio più alta.
- Nella stessa settimana, dal 18 al 24 gennaio 2027, si corre l'Hahnenkamm a Kitzbühel: la domanda di aeromobili ed equipaggi in tutta la regione alpina si concentra sugli stessi giorni.
- Il collegamento fra Prättigau ed Engadina passa dal tunnel della Vereina, con il treno navetta che carica le auto in 18 minuti.
Season and peaks Operating notes written in Italian
- Opens
- 22 novembre 2026 (apertura impianti stagione 2026-27)
- Closes
- non ancora pubblicata
- Peaks
- 18-22 gennaio 2027: World Economic Forum
- Natale-Capodanno
- febbraio
The alternatives, and their limits
Samedan is the area's other door, on the far side of the Flüela pass. It has its own constraints, and they are serious: no ILS, no night operations because it has no runway lighting, a briefing with an exam mandatory for the crew, and no access for jets requiring the higher fire categories. At peak times its parking fills. St Gallen-Altenrhein and Friedrichshafen are the north-eastern alternatives, less congested but further away. None of the three is 'the solution': they are three different compromises, and they have to be compared on the date.
The tunnel almost nobody considers
Between the Prättigau and the Engadine there is the Vereina tunnel, where the train loads cars and carries them through in eighteen minutes. It is the alternative to the Flüela pass when the pass is closed or difficult, and it makes Samedan a workable door to Davos even in winter. That is not a brochure detail: it is the difference between a plan that holds in snow and one that does not.
Outside the Forum, Davos is easy
It is worth saying, because it is true: for fifty weeks a year Davos is not a difficult destination. It is a large ski area with ordinary business aviation demand, served by an airport that can do everything. The complexity is concentrated in five days of January. If your dates are not those, the conversation is far simpler — and that is the first thing we tell you.
How we work
Alpine Private Jet works with Air-Dynamic, a Swiss company that arranges charter flights and operates helicopter and air ambulance directly. For Forum week we work months ahead, we budget the empty repositioning when it is needed, and we give you the number in advance, not afterwards. The intermediation fee is written into the quote. Quote in 1 minute.
Questions we get
When is the World Economic Forum 2027?
From 18 to 22 January 2027 in Davos, with over three thousand participants expected at the Congress Centre.
Can I leave the aircraft at Zurich during the Forum?
Only with approved parking. Without it, the stay is two or three hours: passengers off, then go. Empty repositioning has to be planned and quoted from the start.
How much does traffic grow during the Forum?
In 2025 the Forum brought 709 additional movements to Zurich, a 10% increase. Over two years private flights tied to the event tripled.
Is Samedan an alternative?
Yes, on the far side of the Flüela pass, but with serious constraints: no ILS, no night operations, a mandatory crew exam and no access for jets in the higher fire categories.
How do you get from the Engadine to Davos in winter?
Over the Flüela pass when it is open, or through the Vereina tunnel, where the train loads cars and carries them through in eighteen minutes.
And outside Forum week?
Davos is an ordinary destination, comfortably served from Zurich. All the complexity is concentrated in those five days of January.
Where people fly in from
Flight time and quote, route by route:
Events here
Nearby resorts
On Sardinia Private Jet: Olbia → Davos — flight time and quote
Tell us the date. We tell you where you land.
Give us the day and how many of you are travelling: we come back with the airport that holds up on that date, the aircraft that fits your luggage and what the last leg costs.
Sources
- davos.ch — Date del World Economic Forum 2027 (18-22 gennaio) e oltre 3.000 partecipanti attesi
- engadin-airport.ch — Samedan: nessun ILS, nessuna operazione notturna, briefing con esame obbligatorio valido 24 mesi
- ops.group — Samedan: jet di categoria antincendio elevata non ammessi, parcheggio limitato nei picchi
- stmoritz.com — Tunnel della Vereina: treno navetta per auto, 18 minuti dal Prättigau all'Engadina
- hahnenkamm.com — Date dell'Hahnenkamm 2027 a Kitzbühel, nella stessa settimana
What is not confirmed
This page carries 4 figures that come from our own operating data or from a brief, and that we have not been able to confirm against a public document. They are listed here rather than left where they look like facts.
Open the Italian notes
- Regola della sosta 2-3 ore a Zurigo senza parcheggio approvato nella settimana WEF, 709 movimenti aggiuntivi nel 2025 con +10%, triplicazione dei voli privati in due anni: dati forniti nel brief, non ritrovati in una fonte pubblica consultabile (aeroporto di Zurigo o stampa). Da riverificare prima della pubblicazione: sono i numeri portanti della pagina.
- Distanze e tempi stradali da Zurigo, Samedan, Altenrhein e Friedrichshafen a Davos: nessuna fonte ufficiale consultabile.
- Dati operativi di St Gallen-Altenrhein e Friedrichshafen: non verificati su fonte ufficiale.
- Data di chiusura impianti fine stagione 2026-27: non ancora pubblicata.