Lisbon, Dec. 18, 2026 (Lusa) - Eighty extra Portuguese police officers will be deployed at Lisbon Airport over the next 15 days to ensure the smoother running of border controls and security during the Christmas and New Year period, the ministry of the interior has announced.
In a note sent to Lusa on Wednesday, the ministry states that 20 officers from the Border Control Unit of the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police have been at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon since that very afternoon and have already been assigned to different shifts.
The ministry headed by Maria Lúcia Amaral said that, starting on Friday, 30 more officers who responded to internal invitations will be assigned into the airport.
According to the ministry of the interior, these 30 officers are attending a three-day airport security training course and will begin work at Lisbon airport on Monday.
The ministry indicates that a further 30 police officers are expected to be deployed from Monday, coming from neighbouring commands in the Lisbon area (Setúbal, Santarém and Leiria) and trained in border control.
In total, this measure represents an increase of 80 officers for the next 15 days, with the aim of ensuring the smooth running of border controls and security at the airport during the upcoming busy period, the ministry said.
Waiting times at Lisbon airport border control have been long, reaching "six hours" in recent days, according to the interior minister in parliament on Monday.
Maria Lúcia Amaral said that the introduction of the new European border control system for non-EU citizens "went badly" at Portuguese airports, but refused to accept that it was the "sole responsibility" of the Public Security Police.
The new European border control system for non-EU citizens came into force on 12 October in Portugal and the other Schengen countries, and since then waiting times have worsened, particularly at Lisbon airport, with passengers having to wait, sometimes for several hours.
This situation led the government to set up an emergency task force at the end of October to manage this crisis.
Since 10 December, the second phase has been underway with the collection of biometric data, which consists of obtaining photographs and fingerprints of passengers, which has further complicated the situation.
In parliament, where she was questioned about the long queues at border controls at Portuguese airports, the measures adopted and the expected timeframes for their resolution, the minister also said that 236 Public Security Police officers are currently assigned to Humberto Delgado airport, while 270 are needed.
The minister stated that the police officers must be accredited with the border guard training course organised by the European agency Frontex, and stressed that "without this course and without this training, it is not possible to place police officers at the airport".
The minister said that "10 border guard training courses are planned to be held progressively in 2026".
CMP/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
