Davos 2018: The number of private jets descending on these four Swiss airports is about to spike by 335 per cent

As the Swiss ski resort of Davos gears up to receive the leaders of the free world (and Donald Trump) for the World Economic Forum (WEF), one group is gearing up for its most stressful week of the year: air traffic controllers.

More than 1,000 private jets are due to descend on airports around the resort, including Zurich, Dübendorf, St. Gallen-Altenrhein and St. Moritz, after the event begins next week.

That equates to 218 jets per day, a more than 300 per cent spike compared with the 65 daily flights the airports usually contend with.

On the two busiest days of the World Economic Forum, 16 and 20 January, 251 and 301 flights will take off respectively, according to research by WingX.

The most flights will come from Germany, France and the UK, while the US will come fourth.

Last year, attendees preferred more expensive “heavy jets” to their lighter, nippier alternatives.

“With the length of some of the journeys, these slightly larger aircraft would have been needed, but with such wealthy individuals attending, they can afford to use such aircraft from wherever they were coming – as well as the element of larger aircraft being seen as a status symbol.”

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