As of 31 August 2020, air travellers from risk countries will no longer be able to enter Switzerland by means of transit flights via non-risk countries.
As of August 31, 2020, air travellers from risk countries will no longer be able to enter Switzerland by means of transit flights via non-risk countries. Conversely, air travellers from non-risk states can enter Switzerland even if they have to change planes at airports in a risk state, provided they do not leave the airport's transit zone there. The previous entry restrictions have been circumvented by choosing appropriate transit airports.
Swiss citizens and citizens of EU/EFTA countries can enter Switzerland from all countries of the world despite the corona virus. However, depending on the country in which they have been staying, they are subject to the quarantine regulations of the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH when entering Switzerland, as the office states.
There are no longer any entry restrictions for travelers within the Schengen area and from EU countries. Switzerland has gradually relaxed the entry restrictions since mid-May.
However, most states outside the Schengen area remain on the list of risk states. From these countries, entry into Switzerland remains prohibited until further notice.
Departure airport and no longer transit airport decisive
For travellers from high-risk countries, it used to be decisive in which country the flight that brought them directly to Switzerland started. Previous connecting flights were irrelevant. For example, a third-country national entering Switzerland from the high-risk country USA, who flew to Zurich via Canada, could enter Switzerland subject to the quarantine requirements - because Canada was and is listed as an exception in the Covid 19 Regulation 3. However, because the USA is considered a high-risk country, passengers from Washington or Chicago could not enter Switzerland directly.
What is new is that the countries in which air travelers wishing to enter Switzerland started their journey are now decisive. Third-country nationals, for example, who fly from the USA to Zurich via Toronto, will no longer be able to enter Switzerland after 31 August. This measure is intended to prevent the entry restrictions from being circumvented by choosing appropriate transit airports.
The same mode is also applied in reverse: Air travellers from third countries that are listed as exceptions in COVID-19 Regulation 3 - for example Japan, Australia or New Zealand - can also enter Switzerland if, for example, they have to change planes in a high-risk country such as Turkey due to the lack of direct flights. The condition for this is that they do not leave the international transit zone of the airport they are transferring from, i.e. that they do not enter the risk country.