Two weeks after the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) went live, Václav Havel Airport Prague is still struggling to process non-EU travellers efficiently. On Saturday 25 October, passengers arriving on early-morning flights from Dubai, Istanbul and London again reported waits of 60–90 minutes at Terminal 1 immigration. Border-police sources told Global Mobility News that only half of the 72 self-service registration kiosks were operational because of recurring software glitches. Czechia is one of just three Schengen countries that switched on full biometric checks from day one, putting unusual strain on Prague’s facilities.
EES replaces the manual passport stamp with a digital record that captures fingerprints, a facial image and the time and place of entry or exit for every short-stay third-country national. While the system should speed repeat visits, the initial registration can take up to four minutes per person—longer if equipment fails. Airlines serving long-haul markets have begun warning customers to budget extra time for connections in Prague. The Interior Ministry says technicians are installing a software patch this weekend and that an additional 20 officers have been redeployed from land borders to the airport until performance stabilises.
For corporate mobility managers the advice is clear: factor in at least an extra hour for arriving assignees who are not EU residents, and encourage mobile workers to pre-complete the optional EES web pre-registration to shorten kiosk time once it becomes available later this year. Frequent-traveller programmes are also being reviewed; CzechTourism is lobbying for a “trusted traveller” lane similar to US Global Entry once the EES is fully bedded in.
EES replaces the manual passport stamp with a digital record that captures fingerprints, a facial image and the time and place of entry or exit for every short-stay third-country national. While the system should speed repeat visits, the initial registration can take up to four minutes per person—longer if equipment fails. Airlines serving long-haul markets have begun warning customers to budget extra time for connections in Prague. The Interior Ministry says technicians are installing a software patch this weekend and that an additional 20 officers have been redeployed from land borders to the airport until performance stabilises.
For corporate mobility managers the advice is clear: factor in at least an extra hour for arriving assignees who are not EU residents, and encourage mobile workers to pre-complete the optional EES web pre-registration to shorten kiosk time once it becomes available later this year. Frequent-traveller programmes are also being reviewed; CzechTourism is lobbying for a “trusted traveller” lane similar to US Global Entry once the EES is fully bedded in.
