Being the third airfield in Switzerland without any commercial scheduled flight, the civil and customs airport of Locarno is managed by the Department of Territory, through the Office of the State Property and Cantonal Airport.

In terms of total aircraft movements, Locarno-Magadino is the most important of the 43 aerodromes in the Confederation that are not open to regular scheduled commercial traffic (more than 50,000 civil and military movements per year, with an all-time high of 80,000 movements reached in 1989).

The importance of the Locarno cantonal airport is also due to its vocation as an airport for school flights: military (the airport hosts the only airbase in Switzerland dedicated to the basic training of pilots and parachutists) and civil (gliding, multi-engine aircraft, parachuting, helicopters and single-engine aircraft).

In general terms, airports in this category play a complementary strategic role, contributing on a national level to relieving the movements of airports with scheduled commercial traffic.

The various aeronautical poles in Ticino also operate with complementary functions, in accordance with the Cantonal Master Plan:

• Lugano-Agno - commercial activities (scheduled commercial flights and long-haul business aviation);
• Lodrino - technological pole based on the current important presence of RUAG (international technological group active in the Aerospace and Defence sectors);
• Locarno - includes all other types of traffic (civil, military, REGA and flight schools).