Lisbon, May 18, 2026 (Lusa) – Border control at Porto airport recorded waiting times exceeding two hours, the Public Security Police (PSP) acknowledged, however, the force rejected reports of six-hour delays.
It said that the maximum waiting time on Sunday "never exceeded 100 minutes in Faro, 110 minutes in Lisbon, and 130 minutes in Porto," despite peak times between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
It attributed the delays to technical and IT issues alongside a "high volume of passengers from outside the Schengen Area", in a statement released on Sunday night.
The three airports controlled approximately 69,000 passengers on flights arriving from outside the Schengen zone, police said.
"Contingency measures were implemented early on, always in strict compliance with security rules and border control standards, with reference parameters achieved by the end of the morning," it said.
It lamented what it described as "repeated misinformation" about aircraft border control, citing reports of six-hour wait times as an example.
This misinformation "misleads our citizens, damaging the image" of the country, the PSP said, while appealing for responsibility in sharing information.
"The circulation of unverified information causes unjustified alarm and harms not only the normal functioning of border operations but the very efficiency of general airport operations," it said.
It stated that investments are underway to increase border control capacity, reinforce human resources, and improve technological capability.
Sunday marked the second day that border control at Portuguese airports recorded delays due to IT difficulties, with waiting times exceeding one hour on Saturday.
An official ANA source confirmed that waiting times of over an hour were reported in the departures area of Humberto Delgado Airport on Saturday, following reports of long queues.
The constraints recorded at Lisbon airport's border control led the government last year to temporarily suspend the European Border Control System for non-EU citizens, known as the European Union Entry/Exit System (EES). The system has been operational again since the beginning of this year.
The EU implemented the EES in phases, with full operations across the community territory scheduled for April.
VQ/RYOL // ADB.
Lusa
