The mandatory collection of biometric data from 100% of passengers arriving from countries outside the Schengen area is proceeding without major problems at most Portuguese airports, but Faro Airport faces greater pressure. The head of the PSP's National Foreigners and Borders Unit, João Ribeiro, reported that processing times in Lisbon have increased from 5-15 to 15-30 minutes, describing this as "quite acceptable." In Faro, the pressure stems from factors such as weather conditions, flight delays, and arrival peaks—like when more than 10 flights landed in 25 minutes, predominantly carrying British passengers.
The measure took effect on September 6 and is part of the European Union's Entry/Exit System. The bottlenecks that persisted for months at airports such as Lisbon's have been resolved since late May, through investment in technology, reorganization of passenger flow areas, and the addition of 360 personnel at air borders. The UNEF currently has 1,504 officers assigned to airport security, distributed across the country's major airports.
João Ribeiro reported that the
