Air Base Dübendorf

Since 2014, the Swiss Federal Council has decided to use the area of the Dübendorf military airfield for military aviation, civil aviation, and the establishment of a national innovation park by the Canton of Zurich. This connection of research and airfield is unique in Europe and an asset to the competitiveness of the Zurich economic area and strengthens Zurich’s position as a leading European innovation hub. And the Dübendorf airbase is built on an impressive history.

In fact, on October 20, 1910, the first airplane took off from Dübendorf Aerodrome, marking the beginning of Swiss aviation history. The pioneer flight by French aviator Georges Legagneux established Dübendorf as a center of aviation, research, and innovation. Military pilots joined the airfield in 1914, and Dübendorf became the cradle of Swiss civil and military aviation, with the Swiss Air Force operating here for over a century.

The airfield also played a major role in civil aviation history. Switzerland’s first civil air route began here in 1922, and in 1932 Auguste Picard set a world altitude record from Dübendorf. Ad Astra Aero, the predecessor of Swissair, was based here until 1948. More recently, Bertrand Picard assembled Solar Impulse at the airfield, and in 2015 the UZH Space Hub conducted its first microgravity research flights.

Today, operations are dominated by helicopters, transport aircraft, and training activities. The site hosts key institutions including the Air Operations Center, Skyguide Air Traffic Control, the Aviation and Air Defense Museum, and maintenance facilities.

The UZH Space Hub and the university-affiliated nonprofit Swiss SkyLab Foundation were among the first users of this unique environment. Since 2015, they have organized several parabolic flight campaigns with the Airbus A310 ZERO-G and the NLR Cessna Citation II, as well as research campaigns using the DLR Airbus A320 ATRA, the Zeppelin NT, and various small aircraft. This tradition will be pursued under a new umbrella – the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein.