Lisbon, May 19, 2026 (Lusa) - The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, said on Tuesday that suspending the electronic passenger control system at Lisbon airport was necessary at this moment to prevent the passenger queues that have caused disruptions over recent days.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 631st anniversary celebrations of the Fire and Rescue Service Brigade in Lisbon, he highlighted that the new electronic passenger control system was currently causing a major problem at the airport, leaving people waiting in queues for hours.

“I think it is necessary, at this moment, to suspend the electronic system because it is not working,” he said, adding that the queues over the last few days had been creating chaos at the entry point to Portugal, presenting a terrible image of the country.

 He highlighted that the system is very important for Europe because it allows people to be identified, including criminals who should not be allowed into a country, but the problems must be resolved for it to work properly again.

The mayor and former European Commissioner said that he was still serving at the European Commission when the process to develop the electronic system began, adding that even then, it was known that it would cause problems.

"We have proof here that it is causing problems not only in Portugal, but also in other countries."

"In Lisbon, the problem has now reached a point where it is necessary to suspend the system, because if we do not suspend it immediately, and we are still at the start of what will be summer, we are going to have chaos here. That cannot happen," he said.

He pointed out that the system was not well-designed at an international level, adding that the solution did not rest solely with the government, it is also a solution that comes from the European Union, which has to step up to resolve this situation.

In response to Lusa on Monday, the interior minister refused to suspend the implementation of the new European border control system at airports during the summer, although he admitted that the collection of biometric data may be suspended for limited periods.

He noted that “the applicable European framework allows, in exceptional and duly limited circumstances, for the adoption of operational measures, such as the suspension of biometric data collection (facial images and fingerprints), at certain border crossing points, when the volume of traffic may lead to excessive waiting times”.

The government does not want to compromise national security, it also does not want to harm Portugal's economic activity, he said, adding that he had received reports from several business operators who were troubled by the situation.

On Sunday morning, border controls recorded waiting times of over two hours at Porto airport and an hour and a half at Lisbon and Faro airports, which the PSP (Public Security Police) attributed to technical and IT issues linked to a high volume of passengers from outside the Schengen area.

Waiting times at mainland Portuguese airports for passengers from outside the Schengen area were, by late Tuesday morning, under an hour, the police reported, confirming a technical glitch that had no impact.

In the first four months of 2026, the police checked almost 6.3 million passengers at national airports, admitting that, at certain times, there were longer waiting times than desired.

The European border control system for non-EU citizens, known as the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), was rolled out in phases across the EU, with the system due to be fully operational throughout the EU by April.

The EES, which replaced passport stamping with the digital recording of photographs and fingerprints of non-EU passengers, came into operation gradually on 12 October 2025 in Portugal and the other Schengen countries, and since then, waiting times have worsened, particularly at Lisbon airport.

At the end of December 2025, the government announced contingency measures at Lisbon airport to reduce waiting times in the arrivals area, notably the three-month suspension of the EES, which has since resumed operations.

RCS/MYAL //

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