Airspace Changes Switzerland 2025

[Jonas Kuster]

The yearly airspace changes in Switzerland (usually implemented with the March AIRAC date) for 2025 bring a few significant changes relevant for both controllers and pilots.

FOCA (the Federal Office of Civil Aviation) has published two orders (in German) in this regard:

• 12.02.2025: Luftraumverfügung Luftraumstrukturänderung der Schweiz 2025
• 06.03.2025: Verfügung betreffend Änderung der Luftraumstruktur der Schweiz 2025 «Redesign Luftraum Zürich»: Luftraumstrukturänderung der Lufträume Zürich, Dübendorf und damit verbundene Luftraumstrukturen 2025

The latter introduced changes to the entire CTR and TMA structure of LSZH and LSMD, including the LSR for gliders within TMA LSZH. LSZK airport operations are now contained in a new restricted area LSR84A/B, which will be active together with LSMD CTR.
The outer boundaries of the TMA LSZH changed only slightly, but the sectorisation inside is new with only a few lines remaining as before. The TMA sectors are named 1, 2A, 2B, 3A etc. While TMA keeps a (non-standard) lower limit of 3000 ft, the following sectors with the same number share the same lower limit while the letter indicate different sectors with the same lower limit. Sectors starting with 2 have a lower limit of 3500 ft, those with 3 a lower limit of 4500 ft etc.

2025 LSZH Airspace.jpg

The outer boundaries of the CTR and TMA LSMD are all change slightly, but the split remains similar to before.

2025 LSMD Airspace.png

The published upper limit of all CTR and TMA LSMD and TMA LSZH are changed to FL 100, where they are immediately adjoint by airspace C according to the default airspace structure north of the division line Mittelland-Jura/Alps.

2025 LS Airspace.jpg

The Aeronautical Chart ICAO covers airspace information up to FL 195, and will thus indicate FL 195 for the upper limit of TMA LSZH sectors as the summary of the TMA sector and default airspace structure on top of it.

More details about the new airspace structure for LSZH and LSMD can be found in AIC 001/2025 B or the VFR Manual GEN part (figures on page 139 & 140).

You can preview the new Aeronautical Chart ICAO from the swisstopo website. After the effective date 20 MAR 2025, it will also be made available on the swisstopo Map portal.
Another airspace change (concerning Germany) indicated on the Aeronautical Chart ICAO (with note 1 in the map legend) concerns the airspace G/E vertical limit in southern Germany (west of and below the TMA LSZH), which is changed to a value of 1700 ft AGL or 1000 ft AGL (instead of the default 2500 ft AGL in Germany).

2025 ED Airspace.jpg

To match the TMA LSZH changes, the airspace volume A9.1 and the division line Mittelland-Jura/Alps are adapted to follow the boundaries of the TMA (sectors).

The former order of FOCA introduces changes to all TMA sectors south of this division line Mittelland-Jura/Alps, changing their lower limit to be at least 1000 ft AGL or their (previous) published lower limit AMSL, whichever is higher. This means, the lower limit specified in AMSL will be overruled in the parts of this TMA where the terrain is less than 1000 ft below.

The Aero-Club Switzerland offers webinars in German, French and Italian presenting and discussing the changes introduced in 2025. You can directly participate online or access the video recording on demand.