In an alert dated 23 December, VisaHQ cautions that passengers departing Switzerland between 24 and 31 December should brace for “unusually heavy crowds, longer security lines and spill-over strike disruption” at key European gateways. The notice references reporting by The Local CH and ACI Europe indicating that Zurich Airport expects its busiest fortnight since 2019, while Geneva and Basel have asked travellers to arrive at least three hours ahead of departure.
A primary bottleneck is the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System, still in pilot mode but already adding up to 70 % to passport-control transaction times for non-EU nationals. Industrial action by easyJet ground staff at London-Luton from 26–29 December and ongoing Ryanair strikes in Spain risk cascading delays onto Swiss arrival banks, compressing aircraft turn-arounds and stretching immigration queues just as holiday traffic peaks.
![Advisory Warns Swiss Travellers of Three-Hour Queues and Foreign Strikes Over Christmas Week]()
In addition to issuing these alerts, VisaHQ’s dedicated Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) enables both corporate travel managers and individual passengers to run instant visa checks, arrange expedited passport renewals and receive automated validity reminders—practical tools that can minimise time spent in the slower manual inspection lanes aggravated by the ongoing biometric trials.
VisaHQ recommends that companies with staff mobility programmes take a three-pronged approach: 1) distribute strike calendars and real-time delay trackers, 2) encourage hand-luggage-only travel to speed re-routing, and 3) pre-verify that employees’ passports are machine-readable and valid for at least six months to avoid manual inspection lanes.
The advisory also notes stepped-up spot checks on the southern road border with Italy until 8 January, potentially adding 45 minutes to cross-border commutes for Swiss-based workers who live in Lombardy. Logistics providers are adjusting driver rosters to maintain just-in-time supply chains for factories in Ticino and Valais.
A primary bottleneck is the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System, still in pilot mode but already adding up to 70 % to passport-control transaction times for non-EU nationals. Industrial action by easyJet ground staff at London-Luton from 26–29 December and ongoing Ryanair strikes in Spain risk cascading delays onto Swiss arrival banks, compressing aircraft turn-arounds and stretching immigration queues just as holiday traffic peaks.
In addition to issuing these alerts, VisaHQ’s dedicated Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) enables both corporate travel managers and individual passengers to run instant visa checks, arrange expedited passport renewals and receive automated validity reminders—practical tools that can minimise time spent in the slower manual inspection lanes aggravated by the ongoing biometric trials.
VisaHQ recommends that companies with staff mobility programmes take a three-pronged approach: 1) distribute strike calendars and real-time delay trackers, 2) encourage hand-luggage-only travel to speed re-routing, and 3) pre-verify that employees’ passports are machine-readable and valid for at least six months to avoid manual inspection lanes.
The advisory also notes stepped-up spot checks on the southern road border with Italy until 8 January, potentially adding 45 minutes to cross-border commutes for Swiss-based workers who live in Lombardy. Logistics providers are adjusting driver rosters to maintain just-in-time supply chains for factories in Ticino and Valais.
