In addition to the plenary that takes place, among the 07h00 e as 11h00 already Control and Border Police StationASPP leaders will also distribute outside the airport information to passengers about the current situation which involves controlling passengers at airport borders, a competence that the PSP inherited two years ago from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
This plenary takes place on the day there are a greater number of flights to and from the Schengen area (European space for the free movement of people and goods) which could cause further constraints, as the new Entry/Exit System (EES) has caused problems, mainly at Lisbon and Faro airports.
“We consider that Tuesday would be the ideal day, because we have to have some impact and give some dimension so that, once and for all, both the Government and public opinion, understand the real state of the airport service and the difficulty we are having, because it seems that no one wants to listen to us”, said the president of ASPP, Paulo Santos.
According to Paulo Santos, the ASPP has received several reports of police officers suffering from “exhaustion, burnout and lack of motivation”.
“We are seeing our colleagues overworked, but also with the idea that is often passed on to the outside world that the delays and difficulties and constraints that exist at airports will be the responsibility of the policeand we do not admit that”, he said.
What is at the basis of these delays, he stated, “is not a result of the police service itself, but rather the lack of resources and even structural capacity at the airport”, he highlighted.
The president of the ASSP regretted that the police officers who are carrying out this mission are “to deal with the negative impacts of what is the current airport reality”which is “not in tune” with passenger volume.
Chaos at Lisbon airport threatens Portugal’s image
Delays at Lisbon airport are affecting around 35 thousand passengers per day and are already tarnishing the country’s external image. The new European extra-EU passport control system has caused endless queues and complaints from tourists, prompting the tourism sector to sound the alarm. “We are making news in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil — for the worst reasons”, warns Bernardo Trindade, president of the Portuguese Hotel Association, who accuses the State of inaction and warns that 2025 could mark the sector’s stagnation.
With a daily average of around 100 thousand passengers landing and taking off in Lisbon, around a third — 35 thousand people — pass through border control, where the longest delays are concentrated. The queues stretch for hundreds of meters and, in some cases, waiting times exceed an hour.