The mandatory collection of biometric data has been carried out for one week at all Portuguese airports for passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area, under the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES). The process is proceeding smoothly at most airports, with the exception of Faro Airport, which according to the Deputy National Director of the PSP and responsible for the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders (UNEF), Chief Superintendent João Ribeiro, is registering "greater pressure".
In an interview with the Ecclesia news agency, João Ribeiro explained that at Lisbon Airport the passengers' dwell time increased from five to 15 minutes, when there was a possibility of suspending biometrics, to 15 to 30 minutes currently. In the case of Faro, several factors contribute to the situation, including weather conditions and air traffic delays, which last week caused peaks with more than 10 flights landing simultaneously.
The constraints that mainly affected Lisbon Airport for several months, with passengers waiting for several hours, have reversed since May. João Ribeiro attributed this improvement to investment in technology, the rearrangement of airport areas to optimize passenger flow, and the operational reinforcement with 360 additional personnel placed at air borders. Currently, collection is functioning at 100%, although the European Commission has allowed biometrics not to be applied until December when there are technological problems.
UNEF currently has 1504 police officers working in airport security and border control, distributed across the country's main airports: 706 in Lisbon, 325 in Porto, 215 in Faro, 115 in Madeira, 124 in the Azores, and 19 in Beja. Despite this reinforcement, the official stated that they are "at 80% of the recommended capacity", and there is a need to invest in more technical human resources with the capacity for detecting false documents and preventing migration risks.
