Lisbon, July 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Ryanair has reported delays of up to 90 minutes over the weekend at Portuguese border controls at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports due to a lack of staff, and called on the government to "take immediate action".

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the low-cost airline said that between 11 and 13 July, "more than 120 passengers missed their flights from Porto, Faro and Lisbon airports due to excessive delays at border control" caused by a lack of staff.

At the same time, "passengers arriving in Portugal faced waiting times of up to 90 minutes at passport control," said the Irish airline, stressing that these "are not isolated cases" and that the "Portuguese Government must urgently resolve these staffing problems, especially during the peak summer season when passenger volumes are at their highest".

"If no action is taken, delays will continue and more passengers will end up unfairly missing their flights," warns Ryanair, calling on the executive led by Luís Montenegro to take "immediate action".

The airline also stresses that if no measures are taken, "delays will continue to occur and more passengers will end up unfairly missing their flights".

Parliament on Wednesday approved the creation of the National Foreigners and Borders Unit (UNEF) within the Public Security Police force, with votes in favour from the PSD, Chega, IL and CDS and abstentions from the PS and JPP.

In early June, the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, said that the problems with queues at Lisbon and Faro airports should be resolved within two weeks, after a new system came into operation.

These statements came after the successive release, in previous weeks, of images of long queues of passengers from countries outside the Schengen Area at Faro and Lisbon airports, waiting several hours for immigration control.

JMF/AYLS  // AYLS

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