Shares in Zurich Airport operator plunge after warning on potential revenue hit

Shares in the operator of Zurich airport have dived by nearly 17 per cent following its estimation that revenues could plummet if proposed regulatory changes are enforced.

Flughafen Zurich shares were down 16.42 per cent at the time of writing, after the operator warned that changes proposed by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Foca) could reduce revenues by around 25 per cent, or 150m Swiss francs.

Under the new proposals, money generated from airport activities would be diverted away from the airport in greater quantities. For example, the 30 per cent of "economic added value" from commercial activities that is currently transferred away from the airport would increase to 50 per cent, while the 30 per cent of parking revenues that are currently diverted away from the airport would go up to 75 per cent.

Flughafen Zurich branded the proposals "baffling".

The operator's chief executive Stephan Widrig said: “The charges levied by Flughafen Zürich AG are moderate and about average in Europe. Even by global standards, the quality of Zurich Airport is outstanding and, as the dominant airline in Zurich, Swiss is financially very successful.

"It is incomprehensible that Foca, in its proposal, should massively weaken the investment capability of the airports in Zurich and Geneva. The chief beneficiaries of these measures are the airline companies, while passengers stand to gain nothing and the airports will lose out on substantial funds for important investments. Coupled with the capacity issues we are currently facing, this would create needless yet considerable funding problems for aviation infrastructures.”

The operator said it "emphatically rejects" the proposed changes.