Latest news and stories about biometrics in travel in Portugal for expats and residents.
The European Commission has granted Portugal the authority to temporarily suspend biometric border control systems at airports, with the Ministry of Internal Administration clarifying that the PSP holds the operational decision-making power for these short-term measures.
CNN journalist Clarissa Ward reports significant travel chaos and long queues at Lisbon Airport attributed to the implementation of the new EU Entry/Exit System biometric scanning requirements.
The European Union has fully implemented its new Entry/Exit System, replacing physical passport stamps with mandatory digital biometric registration for non-EU citizens to enhance Schengen Area border security.
The computer system is not functioning correctly, whether in terms of reading passports or collecting and storing biometric data.
Problems with biometric data collection are not limited to Portuguese airports. Long waiting times at border controls are occurring across Europe, and the Airports Council International has already requested that the European Commission consider suspending the checks entirely.
To avoid the long queues that formed on Saturday (11/04), when passengers missed their flights, biometric data collection is suspended once again this Sunday (12/04).
The collection of biometrics at departures in Lisbon, Porto, and Faro airports was suspended again today due to excessive waiting times for passengers to board, a PSP spokesperson told Lusa.
The suspension applied only to departures, with biometric data collection remaining in place for arrivals.
The collection of biometric data at departures in Lisbon, Porto, and Faro airports was suspended this morning to prevent passengers from missing their flights due to long queues, according to the PSP.
The PSP explained the suspension due to long waiting times at departures. At arrivals, biometric data is still being collected, they guarantee.
