Zurich Airport quietly flipped the switch on the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) this week and today, 19 November 2025, the scale of the roll-out became clear. Working with German security-tech specialist Secunet, Zurich’s border police have installed 52 self-service kiosks, automated e-gates and facial-capture towers that now govern every crossing by non-EU/EFTA travellers.
Under EES, first-time visitors must enrol four fingerprints and a live facial image; subsequent trips require only a passport scan and facial match, replacing the old ink stamp. Data flow from the easygate kiosks to a secure backend that feeds the EU’s central EES database, valid for three years. Swiss, EU and EFTA citizens—and holders of Swiss residence permits—remain outside EES and can keep using standard e-gates.
![Zurich Airport Launches EU Entry/Exit System With Secunet Biometric Gates]()
The airport’s two long-haul arrival banks at dawn and late afternoon are bearing the brunt of the learning curve. Border police report that a first-time EES enrolment adds 30–60 minutes in peak waves, prompting airlines to brief passengers on kiosk procedures before landing. HR and travel managers should now budget at least 90 minutes for non-Schengen to Schengen connections until queues stabilise.
Beyond passenger convenience, the change carries compliance implications: the Schengen-wide database automatically counts days in/out, spotlighting over-stays that previously slipped through manual stamping. Corporates rotating contractors or project staff through Switzerland must tighten day-count trackers and rehearse kiosk flows with newcomers.
Zurich’s activation means all three major Swiss airports are live on EES, ahead of the EU’s 10 April 2026 deadline and just months before ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to go live. The Swiss roll-out therefore serves as an operational dress rehearsal for cross-border digital travel in the wider Schengen zone.
Under EES, first-time visitors must enrol four fingerprints and a live facial image; subsequent trips require only a passport scan and facial match, replacing the old ink stamp. Data flow from the easygate kiosks to a secure backend that feeds the EU’s central EES database, valid for three years. Swiss, EU and EFTA citizens—and holders of Swiss residence permits—remain outside EES and can keep using standard e-gates.
The airport’s two long-haul arrival banks at dawn and late afternoon are bearing the brunt of the learning curve. Border police report that a first-time EES enrolment adds 30–60 minutes in peak waves, prompting airlines to brief passengers on kiosk procedures before landing. HR and travel managers should now budget at least 90 minutes for non-Schengen to Schengen connections until queues stabilise.
Beyond passenger convenience, the change carries compliance implications: the Schengen-wide database automatically counts days in/out, spotlighting over-stays that previously slipped through manual stamping. Corporates rotating contractors or project staff through Switzerland must tighten day-count trackers and rehearse kiosk flows with newcomers.
Zurich’s activation means all three major Swiss airports are live on EES, ahead of the EU’s 10 April 2026 deadline and just months before ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to go live. The Swiss roll-out therefore serves as an operational dress rehearsal for cross-border digital travel in the wider Schengen zone.
