By Justin Lee (Singapore)
Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA) is a fully owned subsidiary of Flughafen Zürich AG, the owner and operator of Zurich Airport in Switzerland. Flughafen Zürich AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange; its major shareholders include the canton of Zürich, with 33.33% plus one of the shares, as well as the city of Zürich, with 5% of the shares.
ZAIA was founded as Unique Airports Worldwide in 2001 to allow Flughafen Zürich AG to operate and participate in airports around in the world.
At the moment, with the exception of airport investees in Venezuela, it holds all of the Flughafen Zürich AG investees responsible for advising, operating and/or owning airports and airport-related companies throughout the world.
Through ZAIA, Flughafen Zurich AG currently operates at eight airports in Latin America (four airports in Brazil, two in Chile, one in Colombia and one in Curaçao). It also has a 40-year concession for the development, construction and operation of Noida International Airport in India. In addition, Flughafen Zürich AG also has a base in Malaysia from where it can develop markets in Asia.