MySwissAlps.com includes How does the new Entry/Exit System at Zurich Airport work?
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My wife and I (both 86) will be flying into Zurich Airport from Manchester in Mid May – arrival at noon. Any feedback on the new EES system would be welcome – ease of use and long queues?
Many thanks
Colin Lambert
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Hello Colin
There has been some discussion of the EES system in this forum, but largely confined to how it is operating at Zurich Airport. (Nothing on Geneva or Basel).
Go to the thread commenced by Lioner entitled Schengen Entry/Exit System EES did not check me out at Zurich airport: https://www.myswissalps.com/community/thread/ees-accuracy/
Just look at replies 13 to 20.
Neither Andrew nor I were delayed at I. HOWEVER I believe others may have not been so lucky. BE PREPARED for long delays!
In particular, bare in mind that EES only becomes fully operational on April 12th (a few days after Easter!). And carefully follow any instructions given by boarder control staff.
I would particularly draw your attention to Andrew’s reply 15. He and his wife were delayed on their way OUT of Zurich.
Then read Subrata’s brief reply 16. There Subrata comments ‘I will make it a point to arrive at the airport much earlier than what I would have otherwise done.’
I am afraid we are all going to have to be very patient.
Kind regards
Roger
(British age 78 – I have been visiting Switzerland regularly for 55 years.)
Hi Roger,
I can beat you on one count but not the other.
During our recent skiing holiday this Briton celebrated his 80th birthday, but I’ve only been visiting Switzerland regularly (usually twice a year) since 1981 when I learnt to ski!
I would point out that our quick entry into Switzerland at Zurich Airport was unusual even for pre EES times. Our Birmingham flight normally lands just before lunchtime when passport control seems to go for its collective lunch break. The queue when leaving was bad but I have known worse. There always seems to be a queue of some sort.
At least the “Blue Stamp” is better organised than it used to be. For those who haven’t experienced it, what looks like the front of a small kiosk appears in the departure ‘lounge’ and all passengers have to present their passports and have their boarding cards stamped. Without that stamp you won’t be allowed to board. Sometimes the ‘kiosk’ displays the flight number and destination. Go up to it as soon as it appears.
Andrew
Hello Andrew,
From your experience I understand that an additional stress point has now been added at Zurich Airport, that is, prior to the departure gate for getting the passport verified and the boarding pass stamped. This has further reinforced my resolve to reach the airport very very early.
In my case on arrival at Milan Malpensa Airport a couple of days back, all citizens of India were asked to stand in a queue for manual stamping of passports. No finger prints or photos were taken. Even though there were around 6 kiosks for self entry of data, we were not permitted to access these. I am only keeping my fingers crossed that this should not lead to any problem for me while exiting from Zurich on the 9th April!
Regards
Subrata
Here is a similar thread on the EES procedures.
http://www.myswissalps.com/community/thread/entry-exit-procedures-to-schengen-countries/
Best regards,
Anna
Hi All,
My wife and I took a flight from Zurich to Delhi (via Muscat) on the 9th April. Our flight was at 08.35 PM. The process at Passport Control was hassle-free. Non-EU / Swiss citizens were asked to stand in a designated Queue and their passports were manually stamped. In our case the process of passport checking took a little longer than usual. I was informed by the Passport Control Officer that this was because requisite data entries had not been made in the EES System at Milan Malpensa Airport (our port of entry), and that this had to be done by him. Other than this there were no further passport checks prior to departure.
Regards
Subrata
Thank very much Subrata for this latest reply. The good news is that at Zurich ‘The process at Passport control was hassle-free’.
And in the case of your wife and yourself it took ‘a little longer’ because the requisite entries had not been made at Milan Malpensa.
(New readers of this thread should study Subrata’s previous reply number 3.)
Very best wishes
Roger
Hi Subrata,
Glad that went smoothly for you. Thank you for the update!
Anna
Hi Roger and Anna,
Many thanks for your compliments and kind words. Without the constant help and guidance from both of you as well as from other participants in this forum, it would not have been possible for us to plan such an enjoyable holiday. I must make a special mention of the utility of our Swiss Travel Passes which enabled us to modify our travel plans dynamically based on the weather forecast and at times on our personal preferences on a given day. I would very strongly recommend visitors to Switzerland to invest in some form of Travel Pass such as the Swiss Travel Pass or the Saver Day Pass for the super convenience that they provide. Incidentally, even though we had bought the STPs in First Class by availing of a special offer of 8 + 2 days (i.e. pay for 8 days and travel for 10 days), we found plenty of availability of seats in the 2nd Class (as well as in the First Class) during the period of our travel from 28.03.2026 to 09.04.2026.
I will post a brief review of our experiences in the next week or two.
Regards
Subrata
I’m happy to hear all of that Subrata! Your review is very welcome in the Trip Reports forum: https://www.myswissalps.com/community/forum/trip-reports/
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