After the chaos that forced the Government to act and suspend the automated border-control system at airports for three months, queue times returned to normal in the early days of 2026, typically under an hour. The Minister of Internal Administration will be heard in Parliament this Wednesday in an urgent debate.
Suspension of automated border-control system reduces queues at Lisbon Airport
Wednesday, 7 January 2026RSS
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Context & Explainers
The border-control system is the set of checks and databases used to process non-EU travellers at entry points — passport and visa checks, biometric data capture and automated database searches such as the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the Entry/Exit System (EES). A temporary suspension of automated checks at Lisbon Airport means those arrivals may be processed differently (more manual checks or national procedures), which can change wait times, administrative workload and how security checks are carried out for non‑EU citizens.
