GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss federal government has approved plans to replace the aging east boarding areas of the airport in Geneva with a new “East wing” to be used mainly for long-haul flights.

The new structure, 520 m long, 20 m wide and 19 m high, will replace the current buildings, opened as temporary structures in the 1970s and now well past their date. The old buildings will be torn down.

The new area will allow 6 airplanes to have direct boarding contact, up from the current 3, meaning the end of bus service to reach planes, for long-haul flights.

The approval comes after several months of discussions with neighbours and others who opposed the new plans on the basis they might bring in more flights and cause both noise and environmental problems. The group opposed to the new wing agreed in the end to drop their case and allow the new plans to move ahead, as long as the regulations included a cap for the number of planes allowed to use the area.

No date has been given for construction to begin, or the cost of the project. Details.