Switzerland's main airport is at Kloten, just outside Zurich. It is run by the private Unique company. There are also major airports attached to Geneva (Cointrin) and Basel (Euroairport), which is shared with the French city of Mulhouse and the German city of Freiburg. Both are built partly on French territory. Bern and Lugano have smaller airports from which flights can be taken to a number of European cities. In addition there are numerous small civilian airports all over Switzerland. The airport in Samedan, near St Moritz in Canton Graubünden, is the highest in Europe, at 1707 meters (5,600 feet) above sea level.

Kloten is not only the biggest passenger airport, it also handles three quarters of the country's air freight.

The national carrier

The national carrier, the airline Swiss, was integrated into the German Lufthansa Group in 2005 after running into financial difficulties. Swiss itself had been formed in 2002, after the former carrier, Swissair, found itself insolvent and linked up with the smaller airline Crossair.

Business aviation

A relatively new branch of aviation is business jets. Seventy per cent of business travel in Europe is concentrated in six countries. Switzerland is in fifth place, while Cointrin is second only to Paris Le Bourget for the number of business flights per day. They account for 20% of its total traffic.

Geneva prides itself on being the "European business aviation capital." It has hosted the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) every year since the first one was held in 2001. This is the only annual European exhibition solely devoted to business aviation.

Manufacturing

Switzerland also has its own aircraft manufacturer, Pilatus, based near the central Swiss town of Stans. Established in 1939 to service the Swiss Air Force, it is now a world leader in the manufacture of single-engine turboprop aircraft. Its biggest seller is the PC-12 business aircraft. It also makes highly successful training systems.