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Portugal to Add 340 Police Officers at Airports Starting July
The government will deploy 340 additional Public Security Police officers to five airports beginning 4 July. The move follows recent border-control delays at Lisbon and other facilities.
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Portugal's government will station 340 more Public Security Police officers at national airports from 4 July to speed border processing. Interior Minister Luís Neves said 140 officers will go to Lisbon, 100 to Porto, and the rest to Faro, Funchal and Ponta Delgada. The officers are completing specialized border-training courses.
Queues have lengthened at several airports in recent weeks, with Lisbon affected most. The government linked the slowdowns partly to the European Union's new Entry/Exit System, which records biometric data for non-Schengen travelers on short stays. An official source at the European Commission told the Lusa news agency that the observed delays are unrelated to the system's operation and that the commission remains in contact with Portuguese authorities.
Neves noted fewer problems in the last several days.
He said Saturday may have been the busiest passenger day of the year at Portuguese airports and described operations as having gone well. The government had already sent 48 additional officers to Lisbon airport last week to handle peak summer traffic.
