Did you know Basel’s airport is a binational airport built on French soil?

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, which serves Basel, describes itself as a binational airport and a symbol of international cooperation between France and Switzerland. Its first provisional runway was built on French soil, the first civil aircraft landed on 2 May 1946 and the airport was officially inaugurated on 8 May 1946.

The arrangement was formalised by the Franco-Swiss treaty signed in Berne on 4 July 1949, which the airport says remains in force today. Under that basic agreement, France provided the land and Switzerland built the runways and airport buildings. A Swiss customs-free road connecting the city of Basel directly to the airport was built in 1951–52, and a 1,600-metre east–west runway was completed in December 1952. The airport was inaugurated as finished on 27 June 1970.

The two-country design is still visible to passengers. The terminal was extended on the French side at the end of 2002 and on the Swiss side in summer 2005. Car parks are labelled by sector, such as S1 and S10 on the Swiss side and F1 and F10 on the French side, and parking must be paid on the side where the car is parked, in Swiss francs or euros respectively. The airport reports 8.9 million passengers in 2024, up 10.2% on the previous year.

The pages consulted do not explain in detail how border and customs procedures work for each sector, so travellers should check the airport’s official guidance for their specific journey.