Travellers planning Swiss business or leisure trips may now have an extra year before they must apply for the EU’s new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). According to a report by the Financial Times cited by Euronews on 8 July 2026, EU-LISA – the agency building the platform – has privately acknowledged that launching ETIAS "by the end of this year is no longer feasible" after a bumpy roll-out of the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES). The EES went fully live in April 2026 and is already in use at Switzerland’s external‐Schengen airports in Zürich, Geneva and Basel. While designed to replace passport stamping with quick biometric checks, the system has generated long queues in several European hubs. Aviation lobby groups ACI EUROPE, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and IATA warned on 1 July that the situation had reached a “critical point”, with wait times of up to four hours at certain border posts. Swiss carriers and airports have echoed those concerns, advising passengers to build in extra buffer time during the busy summer season.
![ETIAS launch likely pushed to 2027 after Entry/Exit System chaos – what it means for trips to Switzerland]()
For those looking to cut through the uncertainty, specialist providers like VisaHQ can help. Via its Switzerland portal, the company tracks real-time ETIAS developments, alerts travellers to any requirement changes and will submit electronic travel pass applications on behalf of tourists or corporate assignees the moment the system opens, making the eventual transition smoother and faster.
ETIAS, often described as “Europe’s ESTA”, will require visa-exempt nationals from 60 third-countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada – to obtain a €20 electronic travel pass before entering the Schengen area, which for these purposes comprises all EU states except Ireland plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The pass will be valid for three years and checked automatically by airlines before boarding. The expected start-up window had been the last quarter of 2026 with a six-month grace period. Delaying ETIAS eases immediate pressure on Swiss border posts and carriers, which feared having to layer pre-authorisation checks on top of an EES that is still bedding in. Nevertheless, the postponement prolongs uncertainty for travel managers, tour operators and global mobility teams who have been rewriting policies and client literature to accommodate the change. They should continue preparing staff and assignees for eventual ETIAS compliance – especially around processing times, data security and potential refusals – but can defer system-integration projects and budget allocations until the new schedule is confirmed. From a policy perspective, the episode underscores the complexity of synchronising large-scale digital border programmes across 30 Schengen and associated states, Switzerland included. Bern’s Federal Office for Customs and Border Security remains under pressure to reduce EES bottlenecks at Swiss airports before the next step – full interoperability with ETIAS and renewed Schengen information systems – comes on-line. Companies moving personnel into or through Switzerland should monitor further EU-LISA communiqués and Swiss Federal Council briefings in the coming months.
For those looking to cut through the uncertainty, specialist providers like VisaHQ can help. Via its Switzerland portal, the company tracks real-time ETIAS developments, alerts travellers to any requirement changes and will submit electronic travel pass applications on behalf of tourists or corporate assignees the moment the system opens, making the eventual transition smoother and faster.
ETIAS, often described as “Europe’s ESTA”, will require visa-exempt nationals from 60 third-countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada – to obtain a €20 electronic travel pass before entering the Schengen area, which for these purposes comprises all EU states except Ireland plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The pass will be valid for three years and checked automatically by airlines before boarding. The expected start-up window had been the last quarter of 2026 with a six-month grace period. Delaying ETIAS eases immediate pressure on Swiss border posts and carriers, which feared having to layer pre-authorisation checks on top of an EES that is still bedding in. Nevertheless, the postponement prolongs uncertainty for travel managers, tour operators and global mobility teams who have been rewriting policies and client literature to accommodate the change. They should continue preparing staff and assignees for eventual ETIAS compliance – especially around processing times, data security and potential refusals – but can defer system-integration projects and budget allocations until the new schedule is confirmed. From a policy perspective, the episode underscores the complexity of synchronising large-scale digital border programmes across 30 Schengen and associated states, Switzerland included. Bern’s Federal Office for Customs and Border Security remains under pressure to reduce EES bottlenecks at Swiss airports before the next step – full interoperability with ETIAS and renewed Schengen information systems – comes on-line. Companies moving personnel into or through Switzerland should monitor further EU-LISA communiqués and Swiss Federal Council briefings in the coming months.
