In 1983, Urs Ryf began his preliminary flight training at Bern Airport, which set him on his way towards subsequent training as a military pilot. From the Hunter (“my favourite aircraft”) to the F/A-18, he has flown them all. He has served as Squadron Commander and Chief Flight Instructor, and worked as COO of the air navigation service provider Skyguide. He has been the airport’s CEO since 2019. “As I’m from Bern, it was my heartfelt desire to return to my roots towards the end of my professional career,” he says. He chose a rather inopportune time to get started though: A few months after his arrival, the Covid pandemic began, which also hit the aviation industry with full force.

After three difficult loss-making years, Bern Airport has been back in the black since 2022. “We’re pleased to be able to run the business profitably without public funding.” Urs Ryf and his team achieved this turnaround by breaking down old structures, amalgamating the workforce and slimming down the hierarchy. “Our staff can now be deployed across multiple departments. We’ve increased efficiency, but providing our services with minimal resources is still very demanding,” explains the CEO. “We’ve also switched from year-round operation to a seasonal business model, with all the challenges that this entails. In summer, for example, we now employ a lot of freelancers and hourly staff.”

The CEO sees Bern Airport’s simplicity, friendly atmosphere and short check-in times as its strengths. “People going on holiday with children only need to be here 45 to 60 minutes before departure. There’s even plenty of time for a coffee,” says Urs Ryf with a laugh. “We have two main customer segments: firstly, older retired people who no longer like to travel from a large airport, and secondly, families with young children and lots of luggage, who appreciate the short distances and affordable parking here.” He also says there are a lot of regular customers who plan their holidays from Bern, based on the destinations offered (e.g. Majorca, Croatia, Corsica, Sardinia, Greece and Cyprus).

Around 60,000 passengers take off from Bern Airport every year. And there is capacity to handle more. However, the runway is 270 metres too short. “Our runway is 1,730 metres long. But larger aircraft need 2,000 metres to take off and land. Unfortunately, few airlines have aircraft types that can operate from Bern without limitations,” explains Urs Ryf. Bern Airport could indeed handle Airbus 320s, but their weight would be limited, restricting their capacity to around 120 passengers instead of 180. “However, aircraft have to be at least 80 percent full to operate profitably,” says the CEO. “Another runway extension is not an option for us though, for both political and financial reasons. We’re talking about 20 to 30 million Swiss francs here, which is definitely out of our league.” Instead, another major project is in the pipeline, which should give the airport greater financial freedom in the coming decades.

The company that runs the airport, Flughafen Bern AG, is set to become an electricity producer. By doing so, it aims to make a significant contribution to the energy transition in the region. “We have 60 hectares of fenced-in land, which is ideal for a solar park. Together with BKW Energie AG and Energie Wasser Bern, we’re pressing ahead with the <Belpmoos Solar’ project>” explains Urs Ryf. The plan is for the airport to lease the land to the operating company Belpmoos Solar AG and receive dividends alongside the rent. “These new sources of income would enable us to finance the refurbishment of our partly outdated infrastructure. And with an annual output of 35 gigawatt hours from 25 hectares of PVs, we could supply 15,000 households with electricity,” calculates Urs Ryf. If the project clears all the political hurdles (Federal Council, Cantonal Council, Communal Assembly) and any objections can be resolved swiftly, the construction permit could be granted as early as the start of 2026.