Zurich Airport switched on the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) on 19 November, installing 52 self-service kiosks and automated e-gates for non-EU/EFTA nationals. Although Swiss, EU and EFTA citizens (including Poles) remain exempt from fingerprint enrolment, Polish companies moving third-country contractors through Zurich will feel the impact. First-time EES users now face 30–60 minutes of additional processing during peak arrival banks, prompting airlines to brief passengers inflight.
For mobility managers, the change means tighter connection windows: HR should allow at least 90 minutes between non-Schengen arrival and onward Schengen flights until queues stabilise. The automated system also feeds a central database that automatically counts Schengen-stay days, reducing the chance that over-stays by project staff go unnoticed.
![Zurich Airport Activates EU Entry/Exit System—What Polish Travellers Need to Know]()
Zurich’s go-live follows earlier roll-outs in Geneva and Basel, making Switzerland fully EES-compliant months ahead of the April 2026 EU deadline. The Swiss experience is therefore a useful dress rehearsal for Polish airports, which activated EES in October. Polish Border Guard officials report median clearance times of 45 seconds at Warsaw Chopin, but warn that volumes will spike again at Christmas.
Practical tips: Contractors should enrol fingerprints before baggage claim where possible, carry print-outs of previous Schengen stamps to resolve day-count queries and ensure passports have at least two blank pages for the biometric sticker still issued on first enrolment.
Longer-term, EES data will feed into ETIAS travel authorisations due in late 2026. Organisations ought to integrate day-count alerts into travel-management software now to avoid last-minute boarding denials when ETIAS becomes mandatory.
For mobility managers, the change means tighter connection windows: HR should allow at least 90 minutes between non-Schengen arrival and onward Schengen flights until queues stabilise. The automated system also feeds a central database that automatically counts Schengen-stay days, reducing the chance that over-stays by project staff go unnoticed.
Zurich’s go-live follows earlier roll-outs in Geneva and Basel, making Switzerland fully EES-compliant months ahead of the April 2026 EU deadline. The Swiss experience is therefore a useful dress rehearsal for Polish airports, which activated EES in October. Polish Border Guard officials report median clearance times of 45 seconds at Warsaw Chopin, but warn that volumes will spike again at Christmas.
Practical tips: Contractors should enrol fingerprints before baggage claim where possible, carry print-outs of previous Schengen stamps to resolve day-count queries and ensure passports have at least two blank pages for the biometric sticker still issued on first enrolment.
Longer-term, EES data will feed into ETIAS travel authorisations due in late 2026. Organisations ought to integrate day-count alerts into travel-management software now to avoid last-minute boarding denials when ETIAS becomes mandatory.
