“Today, without a doubt, is proving to be a critical day,” said João Ribeiro, the deputy national director of PSP and head of the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders (UNEF), noting that in the morning, there were queues at Humberto Delgado airport with non-EU citizens having to wait more than 90 minutes at departures and arrivals.
Since Sunday, the new European border control system for non-EU citizens has been operational in Portugal and other Schengen area countries. This system records entries and exits of third-country travelers electronically, providing date, time, and border post details, replacing traditional passport stamps.
On Monday, the Internal Security System (SSI) highlighted the successful launch of this new system, but today the situation changed with tens of thousands of non-EU foreign citizens at departures and arrivals at Lisbon airport.
According to the UNEF head of PSP, Tuesday is the day with the most flights to and from the Schengen area (a European area of free movement of people and goods), and the new Entry/Exit System (EES) requires “more processing time at the border.”
“Today, considering the period I have been in these functions for over a year, is turning out to be the most challenging day to date due to the volume of passengers at departures and arrivals, which is demanding a high level of effort and resource commitment,” emphasized João Ribeiro.
[News updated at 14:32]
