Service manager Nicole Gertsch (50) guards the border: “We act like virus protection for Switzerland”

Adult Swiss citizens and citizens of EU and EEA countries can use automatic checks. Other citizens or travelers with children should go to the traditional border control counter.

The hall seats about 700 people, but fills up quickly. Gertsch is a police officer from start to finish and has an eagle eye to make sure everything is okay. It interrupts the conversation multiple times and directs the passengers to the correct queue. On the plane, he answers the questions of the passengers who forgot their wallet along with the documents required for immigration. Send a patrol to get the wallet onto the plane.

Think and look, then ask

Gertsch complains: “Passengers pay little attention to spatial orientation cues.” As the police are often asked where to go by passengers, they attend monthly meetings that address questions of optimum passenger management.

“Passengers have a huge potential for stress at the airport,” says Gertsch. Attractiveness to travelers: You can reduce some of this by being well prepared for your trip. “The passenger is ultimately responsible for his own journey.”

Borderline trained eye

The guard sometimes sits himself in the border control booths. He looks over the shoulder of Adrian Slemenjak (47). He is «Police Security Assistant Border Control». So he’s not a sworn police officer, he’s a security guard. But also in uniform. Slemenjak describes himself as an “airport boy” and applied for the job in 2018. After three months of training, he was able to start his job.

“I’m doing meaningful, diverse work here,” she gets excited. It checks the passports and compares them with its own system, and calculates whether the entry requirements are met. He often looks into the eyes of the controlled and asks specific questions. “We do a lot of profiling,” he says. Any criminal behavior arises on the basis of impressions.

Suspicious persons are transferred to the second control line for further clarification. This happens on average 20 to 30 times a day. There are a little over 1,000 complete rejections per year. “We act like virus protection for Switzerland,” adds Gertsch with a laugh.

More positive perception

Because: The border department unmasks drug couriers, traffickers, travelers with fake or stolen passports, illegal imports of animals, or violations of agricultural laws.

These important activities now require precise controls, even when travel increases and passengers do not want to wait long, such as in summer. Gertsch is aware of this contradiction and wishes that “the public will perceive our work more positively”.