Latest news and stories about airport in travel in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
Long queues have returned to Lisbon Airport's departures area, extending as far as the Duty Free section, marking a resurgence of congestion issues.
The government has issued a formal warning to ANA regarding outdated passenger forecasts for the new airport, expressing concerns that the infrastructure will be undersized upon completion.
IATA considers that the biggest risk for Portugal this summer is infrastructure limitations, especially at Lisbon airport, in a context of strong demand and increased pressure on border control.
This is the assessment after the first day of increased human and technical resources
The European Commission has confirmed that Portugal may partially suspend the collection of biometric data at airports during peak periods to ensure passenger flow, a measure permitted under EU law until September. The Portuguese government reported a 50% reduction in border control waiting times at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport following an increase in staff and technical resources. Brussels maintains that the recent congestion issues are not related to the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES).
Border control at Humberto Delgado Airport has had more human and physical resources since this morning. The expansion of the border area has been inaugurated. The work will allow for an increase in the number of electronic entry gates and PSP counters.
On the day the border control area at Humberto Delgado Airport gained an additional 1,200 m2 and increased resources, the Ministers of Internal Administration and Infrastructure promised a progressive improvement “from the North to the South of the country”. “This operation will tend to be positively much better than it has been until now,” he stated this Friday.
The measure comes after problems recorded with the new European entry and exit control system
Lisbon Airport is receiving an additional 48 PSP officers, 34 new booths for arrivals, and 18 for departures. Regarding automated border control, the airport now has 31 e-gates for arrivals and 18 for departures.
Humberto Delgado Airport will have an additional 48 PSP officers and more booths and e-gates.
Experts point to airport “saturation”, flight concentration, and a new border control system as causes for long waiting lines. Tourism sector warns of “reputational damage”.
CNN International reporter misses connecting flight after long hours of waiting due to the new control system.
The Avenida Association highlights how operational issues at Lisbon Airport are negatively affecting the country's reputation.
The Mayor of Lisbon says it is necessary to act now to avoid a scenario of chaos in the coming weeks. Statements made by Carlos Moedas on the sidelines of the anniversary celebrations of the Sapadores Firefighters in Lisbon.
Lisbon Airport will have more manual border control booths starting May 29 to strengthen operational response and reduce waiting times, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) announced today.
On Sunday morning, border control recorded waiting times of over an hour and a half at Humberto Delgado Airport
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing stated this Monday in Coimbra that there will be improvements to the service at Lisbon airport next month, with the completion of expansion works in the arrivals area. When questioned about the delays recorded at border control in Portuguese airports, Miguel Pinto Luz stated that the Government “is...”,
The Irish airline uses satirical images on social media to denounce queues of over two and a half hours at passport control at Lisbon Airport and calls for the suspension of the new system.
Images of endless queues at passport control at Lisbon Airport continue to reach social media, more than a month after the new Entry/Exit System (EES) for the Schengen area became mandatory. The association representing airlines in Portugal is, together with its counterparts...
Expansion works on the problematic border area at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon are being completed, with the inauguration scheduled for May 29, Expresso has learned. This is good news, but it does not diminish concerns over the queues that have lengthened again since April 10, when the European Entry/Exit System for border control returned to full operation. These images were captured on Friday morning.
From May 29, Lisbon airport will have more space, machines, and counters, but it is unlikely to be enough to prevent long queues. The government has not yet decided whether to request a partial suspension of the border control system. Lisbon and Faro are the main concerns. There will be 360 additional police officers at airports starting in July.
The Government has decided to extend the current ground handling licenses for Lisbon, Faro, and Porto airports until the end of the IATA summer season, “within the maximum six-month period permitted by the current legal framework.” In a statement, the Ministry of Infrastructure emphasizes that “the goal is to ensure service stability during the...”,
The administrative offence proceedings were based on 230 police reports filed by the PSP in 2025 as part of the crackdown on this illicit activity.
“Without upgrades at Portela within two years, TAP risks becoming a ‘victim of its own success’”, warns Lufthansa, which considers the new Luís de Camões airport “essential”.
As of 11:15 am this Monday, the maximum wait time at arrivals was 38 minutes and only two minutes at departures, according to a PSP source, following wait times of around two hours on Sunday.
On Sunday, waiting times reached two hours for those arriving in the Portuguese capital.
