Tour across the Airfield at Zurich Airport

Tour across the Airfield at Zurich Airport

Tour across the airfield

Fascinating Tour with the Ramp Safety Officer

As part of my work at the airport, I recently had to cross the airfield and got a ride by Jürg Umbricht. He’s Ramp Security Officer and in charge of ensuring the airfield is safe for smooth flight operations.

And what I learned was great!

For instance, I wasn’t aware of the fact that the airfield is a protected area. And during the tour, I realized that life here is indeed nearly untroubled. No people, no dogs, no trespassers, nothing. Only bushes and lush grass. Many animals live here, like different kinds of bird, weasels, hares, and a family of foxes. They settled around the airfield because they enjoy the fact that they –apart from the noise– live in peace there.

Before coming to Zurich Airport, Jürg worked as an engineer at an architectural practice. His original profession was useful for what he does today, though nothing compares to the range of tasks he has as a ramp safety officer!

As usual, the sounds and codes captured my attention. Sounds switched between absolute silence, only wind, and the deafening noise of airplanes taking off. And in-between, three radio channels sent messages almost all at once.

Interestingly, information for ground operations comes in Swiss German, while information for flight operations comes in English. This helps Jürg distinguish the messages quickly. I wonder how this is handled in countries where only English is spoken.

What I liked was that the airfield has place names like any other place. Every trail, street, runway, and platform has a name. They’re called Echo Street or Swissair Street, for example, and the crook is called “Heaven’s crook”. These names give the airfield a totally local touch, while the names of the runways follow international coding conventions.

My ride around the airfield was short but truly fantastic. Thank you, Jürg!

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2024-10-21T12:16:02+02:00

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