The Czech Civil Aviation Authority (ÚCL) issued an urgent notice on 10 July warning that an ongoing failure of its electronic case-management system is still hampering several online portals used by airlines, flight schools and drone operators. Although the ability to send data messages has been restored, the regulator admits that ‘persistent technical problems’ continue to slow down the processing of applications for pilot licences, air-worthiness approvals and slot allocations. ÚCL’s IT contractor is working around the clock to patch the legacy platform, which crashed after a security update earlier this week. The outage has already forced business-jet operators to file flight plans via e-mail and has created a backlog of more than 400 pending permits for foreign wet-lease aircraft expected to operate ad-hoc charter flights during the peak summer season. Industry bodies such as the Czech Business Aviation Association are urging members to submit time-critical requests at least 48 hours earlier than usual and to carry printed evidence of e-mail filings when departing Václav Havel Airport Prague or other Czech airfields. Training organisations say skills-test authorisations for newly graduated pilots are being issued manually, adding days to start-of-employment dates for airlines already struggling with crew shortages. The Authority says a full service restoration is its ‘absolute priority’ but has not provided a timeline. Operators should watch ÚCL’s online bulletin for further updates and be prepared for last-minute operational changes throughout the weekend.
