Sion Airport

Sion Airport (IATA: SIR, ICAO: LSGS) (Military: LSMS) is the airport of the city of Sion, Switzerland[1] and is located 2.5 km southwest of Sion city in the Rhone Valley.[2] The airport opened in 1935.[3] 25,992 passengers were travelling through Sion Airport in the year 2019.[4]

Sion Airport

Aéroport de Sion
Summary
ServesSion, Switzerland
Elevation AMSL483 m / 1,585 ft
Coordinates46°13′10.53″N 7°19′36.35″E
Websitesionairport.ch
Map
SIR
Location of airport in Switzerland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07R/25L 6,562 2,000 Asphalt
07L/25R 1,820 555 Grass

Airlines and destinations

As of October 2020, there are currently no longer any regular scheduled or charter flights at Sion Airport on offer.[5] Previously the airport saw seasonal services to few leisure destinations in the Mediterranean, such as Calvi.

The nearest larger international airport is Geneva Airport, approx. 110 kilometres (68 mi) to the west, while the smaller Bern Airport is equidistant to the north.

Military usage

The Swiss Air Force uses Sion as one of their four jetfighter air bases, the others being Payerne, Meiringen and Emmen. It is known as Flugplatzkommando 14 Sion. In addition to the prop-types Pilatus PC-6, Pilatus PC-7, Pilatus PC-9 and Pilatus PC-21 as well as helicopters it uses Sion intensively with the fighter jets F/A-18 and F-5 Tiger. It is the home base of the militia pilot unit Fliegerstaffel 19 Swans with F-5E. Sion Airport is, at both ends of the runway, equipped with retractable arresting gear devices (used by the F/A-18 and in case of a problem by the F-5).

Because of the redimension of the Swiss Air Force it is planned that the Air Force will leave Sion after 2017 and Sion will be used by civil aviation only, acting only as alternate airfield for the Air Force.[6]

See also

References
  1. Priceline Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Piste25
  3. http://sionairport.ch/a-propos-de-nous
  4. https://www.sionaeroport.ch/en/figures-and-maps/
  5. sionaeroport.ch - Flights retrieved 6 September 2020
  6. «L'aviation militaire à Sion après 2017? Pas exclu», 20Minuten, 17. September 2015

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