“Zurich Airport Expects Record Number of Passengers with Long Waiting Times: Geneva’s ‘Priority Pass’ Offers Solution”

If you fly on holiday via the driveway, you have to have a lot of patience. The queues at Zurich Airport were exceptionally long last weekend. And the airport expects around 85,000 passengers per day on the ramp.

That’s more than last year. In 2022 it was 72,000 per day, but before the pandemic in 2019 it was even 94,000 per day.

“There are currently longer waiting times at the security checkpoints in the morning, midday and evening than one is used to at Zurich Airport,” explains media spokeswoman Jasmin Bodmer on request.

One of the reasons for this is the lack of staff. In particular, the airport police, who carry out checks, are understaffed. Zurich Security Director Mario Fehr recently told the “NZZ” that people without a Swiss passport can now also apply to work as assistants.

Zurich Airport is looking for around 80 helpers for the security guards, who will then be trained in just three days.

Despite this, checks still take longer at peak times. “In the early morning, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and in the late afternoon, there is usually a higher volume of passengers,” Bodmer told Nau.ch.

The airport therefore advises passengers to be there at least two to three hours before departure. In addition, one should prepare well for the trip in order to shorten the waiting times, it is said. In addition, you can do a lot of things at home with online check-in and travel with as little hand luggage as possible.

Meanwhile, Geneva Airport is using a “Priority Pass” system. For ten francs, passengers can buy a special ticket that allows them to get through the controls faster.

The offer is well used: “A little more than two percent of passengers buy a priority pass,” said media spokesman Ignace Jeannerat when asked by Nau.ch. It makes it possible to get to the gate faster, especially when there is a large rush.

Because in Geneva, too, many travelers are expected at the driveway. “We expect 37,000 to 45,000 passengers per day,” explains Jeannerat. But that is less than in the spring holidays or on weekends during the ski season in winter.