Fake taxi syndicate exposed at Prague Airport – here's what to look out for

Unofficial taxi drivers are targeting passengers at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport, charging highly inflated fares and issuing fraudulent receipts, according to an investigation published in mid December by news outlet Seznam Zprávy. 

The scheme, reported as ongoing for months, primarily involves individuals holding yellow “Info” signs who approach travelers outside the arrivals area and guide them to cars posing as legitimate taxis.

The problem affects both tourists and business travelers. Seznam Zprávy spoke to Lucie Zajícová, returning from a business trip, who said she was approached by one of the drivers after failing to download an official taxi app. She said she believed the driver was affiliated with the airport because he was wearing an “Info” sign.

Zajícová paid CZK 1,800 for a 17-kilometer ride: nearly three times the normal rate of about CZK 600. The driver charged CZK 70 per kilometer and added a CZK 500 luggage fee, far exceeding the regulated maximum of CZK 36 per kilometer set by City Hall. The receipt listed a fake company, Airport Taxi, with a nonexistent address and company ID.

The investigation exposed a bureaucratic deadlock: neither airport security nor city police claims full jurisdiction over the impostors.

Executives and staff at the airport acknowledge the problem, but say their hands are tied. Prague Airport spokesperson Denisa Hejtmánková explained to Seznam Zprávy: “We have reached the limit of our legal powers.” Commenting that it was “practically impossible” to evict the drivers, she claimed the airport relies on the City of Prague and the Czech Police to address the issue.

Conversely, police spokeswoman Irena Seifertová confirmed that while city authorities focus on monitoring licensed drivers, “those marked with the ‘Info’ sign…should be the primary focus of airport security.”

According to Hejtmánková, airport workers do not have the authority to evict the drivers from the area unless they actively approach passengers. Airport employees note that official staff wear red vests, not yellow ‘Info’ signs, but the impostors exploit travelers’ unfamiliarity with the area. 

Seznam Zprávy documented the operation, capturing photographs of the unofficial drivers actively guiding passengers to parked taxis.

One editor observed a pair of individuals leading at least five travelers to vehicles within two hours, often right by the official yellow line marking the airport’s taxi zone, which is designed to guide passengers to the official taxi rank. 

“They appeared to be helping passengers as soon as they took their first step outside the airport building,” wrote Seznam Zprávy.

Prague’s problems with scamming taxi drivers are long-standing. Journalist and influencer Janek Rubeš of the Honest Guide YouTube channel has since 2015 been documenting underhand practices at the airport and city-wide, and appeared on Czech Television earlier this year, calling the drivers a “nuisance.”

"You get off the plane and enter chaos, a place where there are various companies fighting over you as a passenger,” he said of the situation. He uploaded his latest expose, showing how the unofficial drivers lure unknowing travelers to their taxis, this spring.

To promote transparency and increase pricing fairness, Prague Airport named Uber its official taxi service provider in 2023, granting Uber the exclusive right to the first lane at arrivals, which means that other taxis picking up passengers there are technically in violation of airport rules.

Although the airport had considered reintroducing classic taxi services in cooperation with Uber earlier this year, the idea was shelved, according to Czech news sources.

On top of some added confusion—you need to either download the app or register at a terminal in the airport hall—the move has as yet failed to wipe out overcharging taxi drivers.