City Of London Urges Swiss Airports To Give UK Travellers E-Gate Access

2026-04-17 04:05:28

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) City of London officials are pressing Switzerland to allow UK travellers to use automated passport gates to end the long airport queues that have become a regular gripe for executives and tourists. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: City of London urges Swiss airports to give UK travellers e-gate access This content was published on April 17, 2026 - 08:53 3 minutes Mercedes Ruehl in Zurich, Financial Times

UK travellers must join manual passport queues at Swiss airports, unlike Swiss and EU nationals who can use automated gates, reflecting Britain's post-Brexit status outside the Schengen travel area. The Swiss can use automated gates on arrival in the UK.

Entry queues in airports such as Zurich have frustrated UK visitors, particularly during busy periods such as the ski season and the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.

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Chris Hayward, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, said the issue had been raised in discussions about smoothing cross-border activity and was“an important 'nice to have'.”

“If we really want to maximise those flows between the two countries, we need to make ease of access for business as quick as possible,” he told the FT during a trip to Switzerland to promote deeper economic links with the UK.

Swiss officials have indicated the issue is“complicated”, citing technical and legal constraints linked to border arrangements, according to Hayward.

The migration office for the Swiss federal justice and police ministry said extending access would require“technical, infrastructural and operational” changes, noting that non-EU travellers are now subject to additional border requirements under newer schemes such as the bloc's entry and exit system, which introduces biometric checks.

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