Dubendorf
Air Base
A Swiss Air Force base nine kilometres from Zurich, not a charter airport. Civil access amounts to aircraft parking during the World Economic Forum. Here is what that means before you plan a trip around it.
Reviewed by Kevin Singh, Founder · Fact-checked against Icarus Jet fleet and airport operations data · Last updated 2 September 2026
The Airport
What Dubendorf actually is
Dubendorf carries the ICAO code LSMD and has no IATA code. It sits nine kilometres northeast of Zurich, is owned and run by the Swiss Air Force, and is the only Swiss Air Force base in eastern Switzerland.
It is not a civil charter airport. There is no civil fuel uplift, no published handling and customs provision of the kind an operator files into, and access is a matter of military authority rather than a prior permission request you can simply submit.
Be Careful
Why Dubendorf shows up on charter listings
Dubendorf appears in business aviation conversation for one genuine reason, and it is narrower than it sounds.
During the World Economic Forum at Davos, Dubendorf acts as parking space for private and government aircraft. That is real and it happens every January. It is also parking by arrangement, not an open destination, and it does not make the airfield available for the rest of the year.
If you have been quoted a routine charter into Dubendorf, that quote is worth questioning before you accept it. The runway is capable, at 7,726 feet, which is exactly why the field keeps being proposed as relief for Zurich. Capability was never the obstacle. Permission is.
Our own earlier guide to this airfield described it as being used for an overflow of private jets from Zurich. That overstated the position, and we have corrected it here.
The Proposals
The relief airport idea, and where it stands
Opening Dubendorf to business aviation has been discussed for years without happening. The government allowed a framework for mixed civil and military use, and there were hopes that aircraft maintenance companies operating from the field would sustain fixed wing activity there.
The wider redevelopment ran into the courts. In July 2020 the administrative court of the canton of Zurich judged further development of the airfield area inadmissible, and the cantonal design plan for the Innovation Park Zurich was repealed.
Proposals to use Dubendorf as an overflow facility for a capacity-constrained Zurich continue to circulate. They remain proposals rather than policy, and an operator should plan on that basis.
What does operate from the field is military transport and rescue work, alongside research flying. Research and development activity runs from Dubendorf, including parabolic flights and research aircraft, but only where the Swiss Air Force permits it.
History
The airport Zurich was supposed to be
The search for an airfield site began in 1909. Work on draining the swamp started on 1 August 1910 and the first airshow was held there on 22 October the same year. The Swiss Air Force has used Dubendorf since 1914, and from 1919 it was also a civil airline airport, home to Swissair’s predecessor Ad Astra Aero and to Swissair itself from 1932.
During the Second World War civil flying all but stopped and Dubendorf became the holding place for foreign military aircraft interned by Switzerland: around 120 United States Army Air Forces B-17 and B-24 bombers and one Luftwaffe Me 262 jet fighter. Repaired by USAAF technicians, about sixty of the American aircraft took off from Dubendorf on 7 September 1945 to return to their bases.
Dubendorf was considered as Switzerland’s primary international airport after the war. The Federal government preferred a new airport at Zurich for technical reasons, chiefly the difficulty of running a shared military and civil facility. Civil aviation moved to the newly opened Zurich Airport in 1948 and Dubendorf became purely military.
It was home to the Patrouille Suisse aerobatic team before they moved to Emmen, and to Vampires, Venoms, Hunters, Mirage IIIs and F-5 Tigers through the Cold War. The fighter era ended in 2005 when Fliegerstaffel 11 took its aircraft to Meiringen. Solar Impulse 1 was first presented to the public at Dubendorf on 26 June 2009 and made its first short test flight from the base that December.
Instead
Where to fly for the Zurich area
Two realistic answers cover almost every trip for which someone might have suggested Dubendorf.
LSZALugano AirportLSZSSamedan Engadin AirportLSZCBuochs Airport
Zurich for anything into the Zurich area, accepting slot coordination, mandatory handling and a night curfew. Buochs for central Switzerland and Lake Lucerne, if the customs notice can be met and de-icing is not needed. Basel Mulhouse for the north, Geneva for the west and the Alps, Lugano for Ticino and Samedan for St Moritz.
For the World Economic Forum specifically, the parking plan matters more than the slot, and both want arranging a long way ahead.
Airport guides & index
Questions
Dubendorf, answered
Can you charter a private jet into Dubendorf?
No, not as a normal charter destination. Dubendorf is a Swiss Air Force base. It is not a civil airport with published handling, fuel and customs that an operator can simply file into. If someone has quoted you a routine charter to Dubendorf, that quote is worth questioning before you accept it.
So why does Dubendorf appear on charter listings at all?
Because of one genuine use: during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Dubendorf acts as parking space for private and government aircraft. That is real, it happens every January, and it is why the airfield turns up in business aviation conversation. It is parking by arrangement rather than an open destination, and it does not make the field available for the other fifty-one weeks.
What is Dubendorf actually used for?
Military transport and rescue operations by the Swiss Air Force, and research flying. It is the only Swiss Air Force base in eastern Switzerland. Research and development flight activity operates from the field, including parabolic flights and research aircraft, but only where the Swiss Air Force permits it.
Is there fuel at Dubendorf?
No civil fuel uplift. That alone rules out treating it as an operational alternative to Zurich, quite apart from the permission question.
What happened to the plan to open Dubendorf to business aviation?
It has been discussed for years and has not happened. The government allowed a framework for mixed civil and military use, and there were hopes that maintenance companies operating from the field would sustain fixed wing activity there. The wider redevelopment ran into the courts: in July 2020 the administrative court of the canton of Zurich judged the further development of the airfield area inadmissible and the cantonal design plan for the Innovation Park Zurich was repealed. Proposals to use Dubendorf as a relief airport for Zurich remain proposals.
Should you plan a Zurich trip around Dubendorf?
No. Plan it around Zurich, and treat Dubendorf as something that may be arranged for aircraft parking during the World Economic Forum if your handling agent can secure it. Building a schedule on the assumption of Dubendorf access is how a January trip into the Zurich area goes wrong.
How long is the runway at Dubendorf?
11/29 is 7,726 feet by 131 feet in asphalt concrete, with a parallel grass strip 11R/29L of 2,133 feet. Field elevation is 1,470 feet. The runway is perfectly capable of taking business aircraft, which is exactly why the airfield keeps being proposed as relief for Zurich. Capability was never the obstacle.
Where is Dubendorf relative to Zurich Airport?
About nine kilometres, northeast of the city. That proximity is the whole reason the relief airport idea keeps returning, and also part of why it keeps being resisted.
Why did Zurich Airport get built at Kloten instead of here?
Because a shared military and civil field was judged too difficult. Dubendorf was Zurich's commercial airport from 1919, home to Swissair's predecessor Ad Astra Aero and to Swissair from 1932. After the war the canton commissioned a study into expanding it, and the consortium advised against Dubendorf, recommending the moorland between Kloten and Oberglatt instead. Civil aviation moved to the newly opened Zurich Airport in 1948 and Dubendorf became a purely military airfield.
What is Dubendorf's history?
The search for an airfield site began in 1909, work on draining the swamp started on 1 August 1910, and the first airshow was held there on 22 October 1910. It has been a Swiss Air Force base since 1914 and was also a civil airline airport from 1919. During the Second World War, foreign military aircraft interned by Switzerland were held at Dubendorf, including around 120 United States Army Air Forces B-17 and B-24 bombers and one Luftwaffe Me 262. Around sixty of those American aircraft, repaired by USAAF technicians, flew out on 7 September 1945.
What flies from Dubendorf now?
The fighter era ended in 2005 when Fliegerstaffel 11 moved its aircraft to Meiringen, and the arresting gear was removed afterwards. Today it handles military transport and rescue work and hosts research flying. Solar Impulse 1, the long-range solar-powered aircraft, was first presented to the public at Dubendorf on 26 June 2009 and made its first short test flight from there that December.
Where should you fly instead?
Zurich for anything into the Zurich area, accepting slot coordination and the night curfew. Buochs for central Switzerland and Lake Lucerne, if the customs notice can be met and de-icing is not needed. Those are the two realistic answers, and between them they cover almost every trip for which someone might have suggested Dubendorf.
Get Your Number
Flying into the Zurich area?
We will not quote you a charter into Dubendorf, because it is a military air base. Tell us where you actually need to be and we will plan it through Zurich or Buochs. If your trip is the World Economic Forum, ask us early about aircraft parking, which is the part that binds.
Prefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203 or email charter@icarusjet.com. The desk is staffed 24/7.