As officials across the Schengen Area prepare to implement its new entry and exit system, some have feared that the change will cause major delays at airports in Switzerland. The new process will triple the time it takes to check a passport from outside of the European Union, requiring airports across the continent to boost staff numbers.

Schengen Area to impose new Entry Exit System (EES) this November

On November 10, 2024, all countries within the Schengen Area will deploy the new Entry Exit System (EES). From that date, anyone entering the free movement area with a passport from outside the European Union or European Economic Area, travelling for a short stay (visa or visa-free), will have their information logged digitally.

Details of the travellers’ name, passport number, photo, fingerprints, biometric data, date of entry, date of departure, and whether they were ever refused entry to the Schengen Area will be logged by the EES.

The new system is designed so that the Schengen Area - prescient at a time when member countries like Germany are imposing even stricter border checks - can easily track arrivals and departures, and see if anyone overstays their visa or visa-free allowance. Though yet to be released, the system will also incorporate an online tool where people can check how long they have stayed in the region.

Zurich Airport braces for delays at passport control

Before the system has even been released, airports in Switzerland have noted that the change may lead to major delays at passport control. Zurich Airport revealed to Watson that while it currently takes an average of just 24 seconds to check the passport of a visa-exempt, non-EU passenger (US citizens, for example), the new system will take 93 seconds to process a first entry and 67 seconds for a re-entry.

With average processing times set to more than triple in some cases, authorities fear that this will slow up the immigration system for passengers dramatically. At the same time, Zurich is expected to conduct 16 million security checks in 2025, the highest number ever finally surpassing the record set in 2019.

Therefore, Swiss police in Canton Zurich are set to employ 41 new assistants and 30 new officers to boost staff numbers at passport control. When asked whether the new workers would be at their posts in time, especially given the chronic worker shortages in Switzerland, Zurich Security Director Mario Fehr (SVP) told Watson that he hoped to find enough staff so that queues would not become a regular feature at passport control.

No new funding from Geneva and Basel Airport to cope with EES

Things are even more complex at Basel and Geneva, where the federal government is responsible for funding and overseeing passport and border security. Writing in a statement, the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG) confirmed that no new funding would be made available, and the new Schengen system would be implemented in the two cities without adding to current staff numbers.

With passenger numbers at both airports expected to rise, queues at passport control during the first few months of the new system are likely.