Page 4 | To warn you not to travel to Prague by plane on a non-EU passport

Figmentofmyimagination · 2026-10-16T20:33:14+00:00

Horrible chaos. 2+ hour passport control queues. First a very long queue for the new machine check - eyes, finger prints etc - and then second very long queue for a manual check - why???. V hot. Incredibly stressful and unpleasant experience. No forewarning by easyJet. Never want to do that again. Apparently it will be the same when we leave. Everybody has to do it - even if you have previously supplied your finger prints etc while travelling to a different EU country.

smooththecat · Yesterday 12:40

Figmentofmyimagination · Yesterday 08:55

I really don’t understand why countries would be forced to treat their international tourists like this. It is the first genuinely good argument I have seen in ‘real life’ against the UK taking any steps to rejoin the EU.

It’s an international border. This kind of friction is presumably what people wanted more of. Much of the rest of the world experiences this kind of thing whenever they cross an international border, hell, they could be waiting there for days or weeks. It has absolutely nothing to do with hospitality and everything to do with what it’s like to be on the other side of the law. You’re just seeing it for the first time.

smooththecat · Yesterday 12:35

Figmentofmyimagination · Yesterday 07:53

What was most shocking was the sheer chaos of it - a two or three strong queue, snaking all through the departure lounge, mixing up departures and arrivals, and the pointlessness of it, checking all the same info twice. It wasn’t just people from the uk. There was a big group of South Korean tourists in the queue. You wonder who thought about the economic cost of all of this for cities that rely on tourism. 2.5 hours of lost spending in bars and restaurants, cancelled transfers, very upset people who won’t be returning anytime soon and will be telling all their friends. I am in my 60s and my only previous flights this year have been to Asia and Ireland. I knew I hadn’t done the whole finger print thing but I somehow imagined there would be a separate queue for people like me to do it once, and then that would be that. Instead everyone has to do it - everytime. It is absolute madness. I have always been very sad about the decision not to remain in the EU but honestly when you come face to face with this level of bureaucratic incompetence, you do start to see the EU as an institution in a different light.

Teething issues aside, it’s not solely incompetence, it’s obviously going to be more difficult to cross borders when your state is not part of a free movement agreement.

Dandeloosha · Yesterday 12:31

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smooththecat · Yesterday 12:30

Ducksurprise · 16/10/2026 21:34

I had this in Spain- despite having already done the finger prints in France , I had to re do the whole thing - I don't understand why

Brexit

NoNameNoOne · Yesterday 12:29

Same in Faro!

Mrcollinswave · Yesterday 12:28

Oh great! I'm going to Prague in December. Glad my flight's later in the day! Thanks for the warning!

mondaytosunday · Yesterday 12:20

My sister flew to Spain this weekend and went thru like normal. US passport. She’s also been to Switzerland and France this trip and no issues at all.

Berlinlover · Yesterday 12:07

My step daughters who voted for Brexit applied for Irish passports because of this. My partner (their dad) is Irish. Pisses me off so much.

Xenta · Yesterday 11:56

Passport queues are a non issue.

Impacts on trade, immigration, economy are more important. But do you really want to give up sovereignty and your finances to Brussels for a faster passport queue?

tommyhoundmum · Yesterday 11:52

fashionqueen0123 · 16/10/2026 21:37

It’s not just there it’s the EU. Surely you must have read about this?

Clearly not

Bjorkdidit · Yesterday 11:51

ExpressCheckout · Yesterday 11:28

It would be nice if a Brexit voter came onto this thread to apologise and admit they did a very foolish thing, despite the consequences being obvious to anyone with half a braincell at the time of the vote.

Then again, there are some quite long replies here, some of which are using big words, so they might struggle to read and comprehend them all.

Plus the fact that it never occurred to most of them that voting to become a third country would lead to the EU treating UK passport holders as citizens of a third country.

Because voting to end freedom of movement works both ways, obviously.

icouldholditwithacobweb · Yesterday 11:40

As I remarked to someone in the long immigration queue at MPX this summer, the Brexit voters who voted for this crap should go to the back of all immigration queues and the rest of us can go first.

ExpressCheckout · Yesterday 11:28

It would be nice if a Brexit voter came onto this thread to apologise and admit they did a very foolish thing, despite the consequences being obvious to anyone with half a braincell at the time of the vote.

Then again, there are some quite long replies here, some of which are using big words, so they might struggle to read and comprehend them all.

Xenta · Yesterday 11:19

Havanananana · Yesterday 11:02

"It it's a shame some countries are so inefficient. That's the EU for you I guess."
So it's "some countres" that are inefficient, not "the EU."

"Look at the UK where EU and and UK citizens have smooth border experiences." Have you ever arrived at Stansted on a Sunday evening, when queues for UK, EU and other countries' citizens can take hours to clear? Often the queues stretch back into the arrival corridors and it takes an hour or more to even reach the escalators up to the immigration area where the queue snakes around the labyrinth of barriers for another hour?

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I have. And we cleared it so quickly with the e gates

Musicaltheatremum · Yesterday 11:05

LifeIsAMeatball · 16/10/2026 23:33

“It is putting people through unnecessary bureaucracy.”

This is Greece’s position! GREECE! I am Greek and Greek administration absolutely thrives on complicated, needless, bureaucracy. If Greece is saying there is something wrong here, it really is!

I understand that Greece are still committed the scheme - though technically it can be suspended during busy periods.

In the most beautifully Greek way, every week across all airports seems to have been deemed to be a technically too busy period this summer to put the scheme in place.

There was a lot of European posturing that Greece needed it in place by September 1st. It wasn’t

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I love Greece and the Greeks! Came back from Thessaloniki on Thursday. No queues. No machines at all. They ve just given up. Mind you the border agent said are you going to London? I told him no, Edinburgh....where's Edinburgh? he said!!!! I think he might have been testing me!

Havanananana · Yesterday 11:02

Xenta · Yesterday 10:28

My experiences the past year have been fine. It it's a shame some countries are so inefficient. That's the EU for you I guess.

Look at the UK where EU and and UK citizens have smooth border experiences.

"It it's a shame some countries are so inefficient. That's the EU for you I guess."
So it's "some countres" that are inefficient, not "the EU."

"Look at the UK where EU and and UK citizens have smooth border experiences." Have you ever arrived at Stansted on a Sunday evening, when queues for UK, EU and other countries' citizens can take hours to clear? Often the queues stretch back into the arrival corridors and it takes an hour or more to even reach the escalators up to the immigration area where the queue snakes around the labyrinth of barriers for another hour?

cherrytree12345 · Yesterday 10:42

We had a 2 hour wait in Budapest in June, but coming back was quick with a manual check. Now in Majorca and as we had already been through the new system this year we were directed to machines which were quick. Hoping our trip back to the UK is equally quick

Xenta · Yesterday 10:28

My experiences the past year have been fine. It it's a shame some countries are so inefficient. That's the EU for you I guess.

Look at the UK where EU and and UK citizens have smooth border experiences.

pavementpolice · Yesterday 10:19

My DD flew there last week and got through quickly. We went in February and had the same experience as you. It really does depend on how many flights come in at the same time I think.

Havanananana · Yesterday 10:15

Figmentofmyimagination · Yesterday 08:55

I really don’t understand why countries would be forced to treat their international tourists like this. It is the first genuinely good argument I have seen in ‘real life’ against the UK taking any steps to rejoin the EU.

EES is not only about "tourists" - it's about being in control of who comes into Schengen, how long they stay and checking that they leave when their visa or permission period runs out. Countries are not being "forced to treat their international tourists like this" as every piece of EU legislation is voted on and approved by the parliaments of all of the member countries.

Almost all countries have some sort of system for this. Even the UK has the ETA but posters on MN seem to be unaware of this and of the costs and issues that ETA has raised. "Taking control of the borders" was a prominent theme 10 years ago, but it seems that people who voted for Brexit don't like it when other countries likewise take measures to control their borders.

Somersetbaker · Yesterday 10:14

As previous posters it's a Brexit benefit that Johnson and Farage forgot to mention, but at least you've got a red passport and an extra £350M for the NHS

BrandiedAromatics · Yesterday 10:07

Pansykavalier · Yesterday 09:55

But if we were still in the EU we wouldn’t have to queue up - we’d be able to use the (usually very quick) EU lines or e-gates…

Many (most?) countries have entry systems for foreigners that cause delays. It is only in the UK that I’ve seen e-gates that can be used not just by Brits and Irish, but also by foreigners from certain (presumably considered ‘safe’) countries, such as the US, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, etc.

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It is to do with who arrives from where/when, the attitude of the particular country (Greece was ahead of the game on this, generally) and the efficiency and commitment of the staff at a particular airport.

I have been in the minority going into Madrid (not in EU queue) so processed immediately - as an example. It is all very random.

Xenta · Yesterday 10:05

I've never had this experience in the EU just yet. Shame some airports are so inefficient

TealHacks · Yesterday 10:01

Grammarnut · 16/10/2026 22:15

I do. It's to punish the British for voting for Brexit. We cut the EU budget by a third and they won't forgive. Stuff them, personally. But I flew into Greece and out again in the summer without any of this hassle. So they can do it.

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Grow up! This level of reasoning belongs in a year 7 classroom.

Monty36 · Yesterday 09:58

Don’t forget that some countries are sick of tourists too. Which will not help. They rely on the tourist money but are so sick of the sheer volume they would prefer to have far fewer of them.
So will not make a process easy. EU or not.