The national director of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), Fernando Silva, clarified that waiting times are recorded by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal.

Fernando Silva also said that the waiting time that served as a model and is recorded by ANA “is the maximum waiting time that a passenger each day waits at border control”.

“In May of this year, the maximum time that a passenger waited at Lisbon airport was one hour and 50 minutes and it was possible to reduce this between June and September to 50 minutes”, he explained, stressing that the result is “in line with the best results registered in Europe”.

Between June and September, SEF handled 7.2 million passengers at arrivals and departures, the majority from the United Kingdom, Portugal, Brazil and Ireland.

The SEF contingency plan for Portuguese airports during the summer months included a set of measures that began to be applied in June and gradually entered into force until the beginning of July.

Among the measures was the reinforcement of 200 inspectors and 168 PSP agents and various technological and operational solutions.