In a letter to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Infrastructure and Housing, and Home Affairs, entitled "Portugal cannot be held hostage by its border," the AHP board expresses "its deep concern about the situation at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon (and, to a lesser extent, also in Faro) since the implementation of the new European Entry and Exit Control System (EES)."

In a statement to Lusa, Bernardo Trindade, president of the AHP, laments the situation at the country's main airport infrastructure.

"The current situation at Lisbon Airport is far from satisfactory, and the Portuguese State, which is neither the State of this Government nor the State of the previous Government, is the State that, globally, has failed and continues to fail daily in timely border control, generating indefinite queues, security failures, failures in its role as grantor under a concession contract, and, above all, failures in maintaining Portugal's image," he stated.

"Our appeal, our open letter, which is, above all, a sincere appeal, is that the conditions be created so that this airport infrastructure does not, in fact, become a terrible gateway for those wishing to visit Portugal," the association's leader emphasised.

Time-consuming system

In the letter, the AHP stated that "this system, mandatory at all external borders of the Schengen Area, introduces more time-consuming and technologically demanding procedures, including the biometric collection and registration of third-country nationals," it recalled, indicating that "the lack of adequate human and technical resources for its implementation in Portugal is causing unacceptable delays in arrivals and departures, with severe impacts on airport operations, the country's image, and traveller confidence."

According to the AHP, Lisbon Airport, "already operating under overload for a long time," is now in a "state of serious dysfunction."

For the association, "the endless queues currently observed at border controls, both upon arrival and departure," are the "predictable and regrettable consequence of an implementation model lacking sufficient resources and effective coordination."

Multiple consequences

The AHP points to "multiple" consequences, such as "the loss of air connections and a direct risk to the TAP hub, whose viability depends on the smoothness of connection times," "cascading" delays in both departures and arrivals, "saturation at baggage carousels and ground operations," as well as a "worrying degradation" of the visitor experience.

Importance of tourism

The association notes that tourism represents "about 12% of the national GDP and the Lisbon region is responsible for more than a quarter of the country's tourism demand," warning of the "risk" of destroying, "through administrative inefficiency, one of the country's main sources of economic growth and international prestige."

"And the situation is all the more serious given that this is only the first phase of the EES," it states, noting that in December, "a more demanding stage will begin, with mandatory biometric collection at self-service kiosks for approximately 35% of international passengers."

In the letter, the AHP warned that "if human and technical resources are not quickly reinforced, the system will collapse due to the foreseeable increase in complexity and volume," stating that "in addition to the aforementioned impact on the country's economy and image, this collapse will result, among other victims, in the Portuguese citizens who necessarily use the airport, particularly the new generation of the diaspora."

Reinforcement of police personnel

The association proposes the immediate reinforcement of police personnel assigned to border control and appropriate planning for peak periods, the immediate repair/activation of eGates and RAPID machines, and the "public definition of maximum acceptable waiting times for third-country passengers and regular monitoring of the results."

The AHP also wants the "approval of a national contingency plan for traffic peaks, with temporary reinforcements and additional stations when necessary" and "transparent communication with passengers and tour operators", coordinated with Turismo de Portugal, as well as the "continuous evaluation of the implementation of the EES", including a "quarterly report from ANA to the Government (and publicly available) on the status of implementation, number of active stations, number of passengers processed, average and percentile of waiting times, technical failures recorded and correction plan".