A quick rundown of the special visitors at Zurich Airport during the
World Economic Forum "Davos 2016".
Wednesday
In poor visibility conditions early in the morning: Government Boeings of Tunisia and the USA, the latter bringing Foreign Minister John Kerry
A nice Russian G-V approaching Rwy 14 from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport
Sergey Lavrov arriving in this Tu-204
Mid East Jet's beautiful Boeing 767-200 coming in from Larnaca, Cyprus
Another striking scheme!
Close-up :-)
No special visitor, but impressive nonetheless
Mexican Falcon 7X completing a hop from Munich, and a Global 6000 arriving from Madrid
One of the usual suspects, AZAL's "Baku 1"
A regular visitor sneaking in :-)
Rotana Jet's A319 touching down from Kabul, Afghanistan
The Falcon 900 came all the way from Montréal while the 7X flew in from Moscow
Another supporter of the US delegation
Joachim Gauck, President of Germany, dropping by for a visit
The Saudi A318 came from Riyadh, while the Mexican delegation made a stop-over in London-Luton
Fantastically painted Challenger 300, with the Ukrainian A319 coming in close behind, and some jets from Italy and China below
David Cameron's modest ride:
Beautiful Indian Global Express
Another 7X arriving in the golden evening light!
Fantastic light for this regular visitor, ULS Cargo's 24-year old A310F
French PM Manuel Valls arriving late in the evening, followed by another array of sleek biz-jets
Thursday
Thursday's traffic proved to be unusually slow, but the day featured one phenomenal highlight: The Boeing E-4B of the United States Air Force
With no other notable special traffic, a mean-looking regular is more than happy to fill the void!
That low winter sun really brings out the best in things (and engines)! :-)
Way past sunset, Joe Biden started his journey back to the US. "Air Force Two" was informed about a 5-minute wait prior to departure, a perfect scenario for a long exposure. But the air traffic controller seemed to think otherwise and issued the takeoff-clearence after just four seconds - right in the middle of my one and only shot! Oh the joys of photography :-)
Friday
Friday was off to a foggy start, with Government bizjets from Italy, the US and the Russian province of Kazan saying hello - plus a fantastic-looking G650 from Spain!
Just in time for the first big highlight the sun peeked through the clouds!
And the sun was here to stay, also gracing a C-40 of the USAF upon its departure back home
Perfect flying conditions for the luxurious helos which transported many a VIP to the mountain town of Davos, where the WEF was taking place
Some nice Gulfs from Switzerland and Pakistan...
Bye Bye, Mr. Cameron!
Another regular sneaking its way into the report - I just loooove these Triple Sevens, can you tell? :-)
Heading on to the approach sector, where generous loads of Bizjets and the odd BBJs dropped by
Probably my favourite design, the sleek G650
Less futuristic, but with an important role (and a photo-happy pax on board)!
Stunning livery on this 20-year old B767-200 of Mid East Jet!
Not seen to often around here:
And a nice way to finish the day :-)
Saturday
Busy times starting early in the morning, with many VIPs leaving Switzerland after the meetings...
Once again the sun breaks through the clouds just in time for the star of the day!
The entourage looked quite stunning as well!
Flashy Korean saying hello :-)
Speaking of nice paints: Here's Saudi Aramco's rendition!
But it does get even better!
Some more biz-jets if you don't mind...
...and a beautiful A310 to finish the day. I like it!
Canforce 1 basking in the warm afternoon sunshine - doesn't look like previous WEFs, ey? :-)
I originally intended to end my WEF experience with the above highlight. But well, if you stick around the airport talking to old friends, and the sun keeps peeking through the clouds at the perfect times, things like these happen...
...or like these :-)
I hope you enjoyed this sun-filled coverage of this year's WEF traffic in Zurich! Feel free to share or comment :-)
