In a statement sent to Lusa, the MAI says that 20 officers, from the Border Control Unit of the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the PSP, have been at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon since yesterday afternoon, and have already been distributed across different shifts.

The ministry headed by Maria Lúcia Amaral adds that, starting Friday, another 30 officers, who responded to internal invitations, will be integrated into the airport.

According to the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI), these 30 agents are undergoing three days of airport security training and will begin working at Lisbon airport starting Tuesday.

The MAI indicates that a further 30 police officers are also expected to be added starting Monday, these officers coming from the border commands in the Lisbon area (Setúbal, Santarém and Leiria) and trained in border control.

“In total, this deployment represents a reinforcement of 80 personnel over the next 15 days, with the aim of ensuring the regular functioning of border control and security at the airport during the period of greatest influx,” the MAI specifies.

Six-hour delays

Waiting times at Lisbon airport have been high, reaching “six hours” in recent days, as the Minister of Internal Administration stated in parliament on Tuesday.

Maria Lúcia Amaral admitted that the introduction of the new European border control system for non-EU citizens “went wrong” at Portuguese airports, but denied that it was the “exclusive responsibility” of the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police).

The new European border control system for non-EU citizens came into operation on October 12th in Portugal and the remaining Schengen Area countries, and since then, waiting times have worsened, particularly at Lisbon airport, with passengers sometimes having to wait for several hours.

This situation led the Government to create an emergency task force at the end of October to manage this crisis.

Since December 10th, the second phase has been underway, involving the collection of biometric data, which consists of obtaining photographs and fingerprints of passengers, further complicating the situation.

In parliament, where she was questioned about the long queues at border control in Portuguese airports, the measures adopted, and the expected timelines for their resolution, the minister also stated that currently 236 PSP (Public Security Police) officers are assigned to Humberto Delgado Airport, while the need is for 270.

The minister affirmed that PSP officers must be accredited with the border guard training course, organized 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 added that "10 border guard training courses are planned to be carried out progressively in 2026."