The Connexion – in an article updated on 23 October – has published fresh guidance on the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) following reports of long queues at some external Schengen borders, including Prague Airport. The EES, live since 12 October, replaces passport-stamping for non-EU short-stay visitors with biometric enrolment and automated records.
Czech border police told local media that initial teething problems stemmed from travellers unfamiliar with the self-service kiosks and airlines failing to separate first-time registrants. While bottlenecks have eased, passengers arriving on peak mid-morning North-American flights still face processing times of up to 50 minutes. Prague Airport has added mobile teams to triage passengers and is considering a dedicated EES help desk in Terminal 1.
For corporate mobility teams the main takeaway is to brief non-EU assignees and business visitors to allow extra time and to retain their exit receipts, which will be needed for future stays and for Schengen-day calculations. The update also clarifies that British and Australian nationals have temporarily been exempted at certain checkpoints pending software fixes – an exemption Czech authorities say they will mirror to avoid discrimination.
Companies running rotational shift patterns should revisit flight-duty rosters to accommodate variable arrival times until the six-month phased roll-out completes on 10 April 2026.
Czech border police told local media that initial teething problems stemmed from travellers unfamiliar with the self-service kiosks and airlines failing to separate first-time registrants. While bottlenecks have eased, passengers arriving on peak mid-morning North-American flights still face processing times of up to 50 minutes. Prague Airport has added mobile teams to triage passengers and is considering a dedicated EES help desk in Terminal 1.
For corporate mobility teams the main takeaway is to brief non-EU assignees and business visitors to allow extra time and to retain their exit receipts, which will be needed for future stays and for Schengen-day calculations. The update also clarifies that British and Australian nationals have temporarily been exempted at certain checkpoints pending software fixes – an exemption Czech authorities say they will mirror to avoid discrimination.
Companies running rotational shift patterns should revisit flight-duty rosters to accommodate variable arrival times until the six-month phased roll-out completes on 10 April 2026.
