Switzerland’s largest international airport no longer makes announcements in French — only in German and English.
You may have noticed it when passing through the airport, but the move was confirmed in media reports on March 17th.
The only exception to the new rule: boarding announcements for flights to French-speaking airports.
But even that is not guaranteed: if the ground staff don't speak French, no big deal: announcements are made in English and German only.
The company justifies abandoning this language because the demands of airlines and the job market have "changed significantly."
Why is that?
According to airport spokesperson Livia Caluori, "the decision to limit ourselves to two languages is a conscious measure taken as part of our so-called silent airport concept."
Announcements initially stopped being made in French back in July 2024.
"We are following an international trend," she pointed out, adding that other airports are also reducing announcements to focus on “passenger relaxation and comfort.”
By the same token, the airport’s website is available in German and English only.
The decision to drop the second Swiss national language was based on an analysis of user data, Caluori continued.
Five years ago, the website’s usage data had been examined and it had emerged that only 1 percent of users had clicked on the French version.
“However, thanks to new technologies, French-speakers are not completely overwhelmed,” the spokeswoman explained. “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.”
What about the other two international airports in Switzerland?
In Geneva too, almost all announcements are only in French and English, though the airport has not said whether this was a conscious choice like in Zurich, or whether other reasons are at play.
It looks like the only tri-lingual airport in Switzerland is Basel EuroAirport.
Its use of French and German (in addition to English) is easily explained: the airport is located at the crossroads of three countries; the (German-speaking) Switzerland, France, and Germany.
Different criteria for the crew
However, all flight crews working on board SWISS or Edelweiss airlines must be fluent in all three languages: German, French, and English.
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