Zurich airport- passport control and Swiss air connection

Previous to EES, I moved 60 people arriving from US at Zurich airport to a Geneva connecting flight in about 1 hour. We had to board a bus to get to the Geneva flight as the plane was parked out on the tarmac. They even held the bus for a minute as one of our group was missing when checking in for the Geneva flight. They showed up a minute later so we all made it. The Swiss are used to this, They have been doing it for a while.

I would definitey request wheelchair assistance for those in the group who might need it.

One issue with requesting a wheelchair: while those passengers usually get ON the plane first, they usually get OFF the plane LAST. That can mean losing precious minutes during a tight connection. On the other hand, if you have to walk a ways between flights, you could lose that time if your relative walks slowly.

It’s hard to imagine that any airline would book a flight with a 20-minute connection time! More proof that the airlines hate us and want us to suffer. I’m really sorry to hear that Swiss Air has been so difficult to deal with, since I’m flying with them next May. Luckily our flight over is nonstop.

Flight changed, flight delayed, flight cancelled and had to stay overnight in Zurich. Newish, modern airport, There is also the new EES requirement to probably go though (scanning, fingerprint, passport).

What I learned from my experience last month: my Swiss Air flight was great, more in the delicious realm, airline algorithms take into account flight arrival gate to flight departure gate. So when I got off my delayed flight and went through all the official rigmarole and got to my gate, having to walk almost the whole length of the terminal, door was shut, plane at the gate and new flight already sent to me. I found out that with that algorithm some flights wait for pax but others don't. There were 3 of us trying to make that door already shut walk the length of the terminal to catch that flight.

Swiss Air has a good number of flights Zurich to Geneva so you might not make the connection you are booked on but hopefully on one with sufficient seats for all 6. Problem comes in with checked baggage and if the bags are on your original flight.

I was going Ljubljana to Phoenix and I could not checkin online so took a 20 minute, 4 euro ride to the airport to get my boarding pass. All for naught as my flight got cancelled and then changed but spent the night trying to get a better flight and ended up changing it when I got to the airport the day of my flight. Can you make a trip to the airport and physically change it?

During the night found flights I wanted and presented my option to the agent when I got to the airport. Unfortunately bad weather played havoc thoughout europe so delays, cancellations, doors already shut, etc. Elderly folks can be difficult but you may need to get tough and get anyone YOU think needs assistance and book it.

I know this might not answer you directly but hopefully give you some insight into what to plan for. I ended up with 4 airlines, 12 boarding passes and 3 days of airline issues.

Just thought: the Zurich Airport has the most fabulous train station. You could forego flying to Geneva and take the train at the Zurich airport to Geneva. it is a 3+ hour trip and might be difficult with your travel companions with lots of pluses and minuses but might be an option. Good luck.

Is your actual destination Geneva?

If your destination is anywhere to the East of Geneva (basically anywhere in Switzerland) you are probably better off just taking a flight to Zürich, and not adding the complication of a connection to Geneva. That is like flying to JFK, and then connecting to Newark...

The from Zürich just take the train to wherever in Switzerland you want to be. Trains run every half hour on most routes, so you do not have to worry to much about how long you might be stuck inpassport control.

Thanks all, These are very helpful.

I had thought about taking the train from Zurich to Geneva, but was worried about them cancelling our return flights since we cancelled the last leg of the arrival flight. The last agent I talked to told me that won't happen, but at this point I don't trust that I'm getting correct information. I've talked to multiple agents, and unfortunately also a scammer impersonating a Swiss Airlines agent (in my frustration I looked for numbers on the web for Swiss Air, and got a scammer!)

Also, if the luggage is booked through to Geneva, and we're not on the Zurich to Geneva flight (cancelling because we missed the assigned flight), I don't know what happens to the luggage. But very happy to hear if you have thoughts or relevant experiences. I thought about seeing what we can do when we check in to our flight in Boston. idk.

Normally the boarding time listed is approximately 30 minutes before they close the doors so they are giving you 50 minutes which before EES could be doable, at least we did one time. Have you looked into the cost of changing your flight to actually ending in Zurich? Then taking the train to wherever you’re going near Geneva. IMO and as others keep suggesting, this might be your best option and relieve a whole lot of stress…good luck!

I just went through passport control at zurich airport a month ago.It took a solid hour to get through.

Hi, thanks for letting me know. The agent at check in said the policy is not to change if have 45 minutes, so they couldn’t change it. . It seems like it’s a moot point and going to be a long night- according to the Swiss air app we’re on time and yet a delta plane is at the gate and we should have started boarding. So much for keeping us informed .