Private jet flights to Davos soar by a third

The number of private business flights landing at the three airports nearest to Davos was 35pc higher last January – and could rise even more this year.

The number of private jets landing in east Switzerland's main airports is expected to jump by a third this month as world leaders, executives and entrepreneurs descend on Davos for the annual World Economic Forum.

Last January, 1,389 private planes flew into Zurich, St Gallen-Altenrhein and Samedan airports, 35pc more than in an average month, according to the aircraft services group Gama Aviation.

These three airports accounted for 46pc of all business flights into Switzerland in January last year, compared to 37pc in a normal month.

The extra load could be even higher this year, as last year's increase was bigger than in previous years.

From 2011 and 2014, the number of private jets landing at Zurich, St. Gallen-Altenrhein and Samedan airports in January stood steady at around 30pc more than in an average month.

Private jets to Zurich, St. Gallen-Altenrhein and Samedan soar by 35pc in January

Most of these jets land at Zurich Airport, which is 154km from Davos. Almost 900 business flights landed at the country's main airport last January, 15pc more than a regular month.

St Gallen-Altenrhein, a journey of 117km from the Forum and Switzerland's sixth busiest airport, took 288 jet landings in January, a 55pc increase.

Samedan, which at 66km away is the closest airport to Davos, sees a 144pc spike in private business landings, or a total of 205 planes.

Around 2,500 delegates will be flying into Davos this week for the 46th annual conference, including David Cameron, George Osborne, US vice-president Joe Biden, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, as well as celebrities such as Leonardo di Caprio, Kevin Spacey and Bono.