Latest news and stories about airports in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz acknowledged that long border control queues at Lisbon, Porto, and Faro airports are damaging Portugal's international image. Passenger numbers have risen by nearly 70% over the last decade, yet infrastructure and staffing levels have not kept pace, leading to significant delays for travelers arriving from outside the Schengen Area.
Portuguese airports faced significant operational instability on April 19, resulting in 233 flight delays and 6 cancellations. Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon was the most impacted, with 188 delays, while Porto also experienced substantial disruptions. Authorities attributed the logistical issues to a combination of air traffic control failures and weather conditions.
The manager highlighted that national airports have recorded “a much more fluid operation during the summer”.
Starting this Monday, more than 360 police officers are reinforcing Portuguese airports as part of a measure to increase the PSP's capacity for passenger control and to avoid the queues seen in recent times. These 367 officers, who are part of the PSP's National Unit for Foreigners and Borders (UNEF), finished their training on Friday.
Portuguese airports lost ground in the 2026 edition of the AirHelp ranking, with Humberto Delgado appearing among the worst in the world. Francisco Sá Carneiro was the only one to rise. In another ranking, by Skytraxx, both Lisbon and Porto fell a few places. The capital's infrastructure appears in 274th place...
Portugal has triggered the legal mechanism with European institutions that allows for the suspension of biometric data collection at airports in situations of significant delays at border control.
More than half of the 570 new PSP police officers who finished their training course today will be deployed to Portuguese airports, totaling 360, with the remainder assigned to the Lisbon Metropolitan Command.
More than half of the 570 new PSP police officers finishing their training course this Thursday will be stationed at Portuguese airports, totaling 360, with the remainder assigned to the Lisbon Metropolitan Command. The 21st agent training course concludes with the oath of honour ceremony at the Practical School.
