ZRH airport transfer question
 

For a country famous for its efficiency, the website for the Zurich Int'l Airport is a mess. Not user friendly at all. I simply want to find out what terminal my AA flight will arrive in, where my Swiss European Airline flight to Venice will leave from, and how to get from the first point to the second. I will have about 50 minutes to go through immigration and find my connecting gate--and get a seat assignment, since int'l travelers can't do that in advance. In most airports, this would be a piece of cake. Not so on the ZRH site.

By going to a different website altogether, I read that int'l flights from N America normally come into Terminal B and that Terminal A is used for shorter flights from Zurich to other European countries. But how to get from one to the other? Who knows--I've given up.

Anybody have any insight on this? It sounds like a tight connection unless my flight into Zurich is early.

There are signs directing you to each terminal. If you hurry and the airport isn't too crowded, you should make it.

The Zurich airport is very easy to navigate. Just follow the signs (in multiple languages, including English).

Ask the flight crew on your American flight if they know the departing gate/terminal for your connecting flight. If they don't have the info, just check the monitors when you deplane.

FYI, we had a tight connection last October from a transcontinental flight to a regional flight. Our transcon flight was late, and we were sure we'd miss the connection. We transferred terminals, went through carry-on security scan, and then had to wait for a shuttle bus to take us to the regional plane which was loading out on the tarmac. All in less than 30 minutes.

As Switzerland is not a member of the EU, you will NOT go through Immigration in Zurich, you will be “in transit” and will simply be changing planes. You baggage will be transferred for you. You will need to find the proper “transfer/transit counter” in order to get your boarding pass and seat assignment for your onward flight. Look for signs for the transfer/transit counter for Swiss Air (assuming this is your airline for Venice, note that it may have an LX or Lufthansa call number and you may have to go to the Lufthansa transit counter). You may also need to go through security again when you enter the gate area. With 50 minutes, the most time consuming bit may be the waiting line at the transfer/transit counter. This is a very tight connection indeed.

Swiss International Air flights for destinations within Europe generally depart from Terminal A. (This can change depending on traffic, weather, etc)

To change from Terminal A to Terminal B you have simply have to walk. If one of your flights is taking off or arriving into Terminal E (sometimes called “Dock E”), this will require that you take the underground train, it’s just one stop of a few minutes. In any event, there are signs and it is not difficult to do; the train will just add a bit of time to your connection time.

Confusingly, Zurich Airport has DIFFERENT names for areas which are about the same, depending on whether you are arriving or departing (these seems to make sense to them, it took me about a year of living there to figure this out). When you are departing, they are called Terminal A and B and E, when you are arriving they are called Arrival 1 and Arrival 2 (not to be confused with Check-in 1, 2 and 3 which is of course for check-in).

FYI, Zurich airport has the worst on-time record of any airport in Europe. Don’t be fooled by the vaunted Swiss efficiency. There is a history to that airport, books have been written about it, its a real political mess.

<<< As Switzerland is not a member of the EU, you will NOT go through Immigration in Zurich >>>

As Switzerland is not a member of SCHENGEN, you will NOT go through Immigration in Zurich

However it's supposed to be becoming one soon and once it does you will have to go through immigration in Zurich

Yes, I suspected someone more pedantic than myself would mention the Schengen bit....I figured it would be flanneruk. I very much have my doubts that Switzerland will ever become a full participant in the Schengen Agreement. The vote was in 2005 and they still have not really done anything about changing their system...If you had experienced the 2005 referendum when that issue was on the ballot, you would understand why I have my doubts.

Ouch. So much for asking my travel agent to book me to Venice through streamlined-sounding ZRH instead of chaotic CDG or bustling Frankfurt. I guess if I miss my flight due to a too-tight connection, they will just put me on the next flight and I'll try to grab a nap.

<<< Yes, I suspected someone more pedantic than myself would mention the Schengen bit >>>

You mean you got your facts wrong so you attack the person who pointed out your inaccuracy

Thanks Alan for your kind words; no, I am aware of Schengen, and am usually the pedantic one, sorry that you misunderstood my comment. If you will check my numerous other posts on immigration issues, you will see that I have mentioned Schengen in previouis posts.

However, I find that most people are not aware of Schengen, so I have kind of given up on it. Most people are not aware that Switzeraland is not in the EU, let alone that there is something called Schengen, and that there are signatories to it that are not part of the EU. When you try to explain that, you see eyes glazing over. It is often easier to just say "not in the the EU" as most people have a basic understanding of what the EU is. It is like when most non-US people ask me "who did you vote for for President?" I just tell them. It a lot easier (and face-saving for the questioner) than explaining that in fact NO ONE votes for the President of the US; we vote for electors.