Airports across Europe – including Prague’s Václav Havel Airport – are warning that the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is already buckling under holiday-season passenger volumes just two months after its phased launch.
In a strongly-worded statement issued late on 18 December, industry body Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) said border-control processing times have jumped by “up to 70 percent” since the biometric system went live on 12 October. Peak-hour waits of up to three hours have been reported, with airports in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain – and Czechia – singled out for repeated congestion. ACI blamed recurring system outages, malfunctioning self-service kiosks and acute shortages of border-guard staff. Without swift remedial action, it warned, “systemic disruption for airports and airlines” is inevitable when mandatory EES registration expands from the current 10 percent of travellers to 35 percent on 9 January.
Prague Airport was one of only three Schengen hubs to activate 100 percent biometric checks from day one. Border Police officers there say they have already had to divert passengers into the EU/EEA lanes several times this week after kiosks froze mid-process, creating queues that snaked beyond the passport-control hall. Airlines operating out of Terminal 1 reported dozens of missed onward connections on Thursday and Friday.
![EU Airports Demand Emergency Review of New EES Border-Control System as Queues Mount at Prague and Other Hubs]()
Amid the uncertainty, travelers who need clarity on Czech entry rules—or on any visa formalities connected to the new EES—can turn to VisaHQ. The platform’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers real-time updates on documentation requirements, step-by-step application assistance, and alerts about procedural changes, helping passengers and businesses navigate the evolving border landscape with confidence.
The Czech Interior Ministry told local media it has drafted an emergency staffing plan that would pull officers from low-risk regional crossings into Prague over the Christmas peak. However, unions caution that training officers on the complex EES interface normally requires several days. Carriers are advising non-EU passengers to arrive at least three hours before departure and to expect “manual fallback” checks if kiosks go offline.
Beyond the immediate operational headache, the disruption raises broader questions for Czech businesses that rely on international talent mobility. Consultancy RelocateCZ notes that extended border formalities could erode Prague’s competitiveness as a regional headquarters location just as companies plan 2026 expatriate assignments. The firm is urging employers to build longer connection buffers into travel policies and to brief staff on the possibility of biometric re-enrolment when kiosks fail to capture data correctly.
ACI Europe has asked the European Commission, eu-LISA (the agency running the database) and Frontex to convene an emergency task-force before year-end. It wants a freeze on the January scaling-up target unless outages, staffing and a promised pre-registration smartphone app are resolved. For travellers heading to or through Czechia in the coming days, the advice is simple: allow extra time, have documents ready – and pack some patience.
In a strongly-worded statement issued late on 18 December, industry body Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) said border-control processing times have jumped by “up to 70 percent” since the biometric system went live on 12 October. Peak-hour waits of up to three hours have been reported, with airports in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain – and Czechia – singled out for repeated congestion. ACI blamed recurring system outages, malfunctioning self-service kiosks and acute shortages of border-guard staff. Without swift remedial action, it warned, “systemic disruption for airports and airlines” is inevitable when mandatory EES registration expands from the current 10 percent of travellers to 35 percent on 9 January.
Prague Airport was one of only three Schengen hubs to activate 100 percent biometric checks from day one. Border Police officers there say they have already had to divert passengers into the EU/EEA lanes several times this week after kiosks froze mid-process, creating queues that snaked beyond the passport-control hall. Airlines operating out of Terminal 1 reported dozens of missed onward connections on Thursday and Friday.
Amid the uncertainty, travelers who need clarity on Czech entry rules—or on any visa formalities connected to the new EES—can turn to VisaHQ. The platform’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers real-time updates on documentation requirements, step-by-step application assistance, and alerts about procedural changes, helping passengers and businesses navigate the evolving border landscape with confidence.
The Czech Interior Ministry told local media it has drafted an emergency staffing plan that would pull officers from low-risk regional crossings into Prague over the Christmas peak. However, unions caution that training officers on the complex EES interface normally requires several days. Carriers are advising non-EU passengers to arrive at least three hours before departure and to expect “manual fallback” checks if kiosks go offline.
Beyond the immediate operational headache, the disruption raises broader questions for Czech businesses that rely on international talent mobility. Consultancy RelocateCZ notes that extended border formalities could erode Prague’s competitiveness as a regional headquarters location just as companies plan 2026 expatriate assignments. The firm is urging employers to build longer connection buffers into travel policies and to brief staff on the possibility of biometric re-enrolment when kiosks fail to capture data correctly.
ACI Europe has asked the European Commission, eu-LISA (the agency running the database) and Frontex to convene an emergency task-force before year-end. It wants a freeze on the January scaling-up target unless outages, staffing and a promised pre-registration smartphone app are resolved. For travellers heading to or through Czechia in the coming days, the advice is simple: allow extra time, have documents ready – and pack some patience.
