The rollout of biometric checks for all non-EU passengers at Portuguese airports has begun – with delays of around an hour early this morning reported only at Faro, a police source has told Lusa.
With the widening of biometric checks for all passengers, the new European border control system is now fully operational for non-EU citizens, following a phased implementation period that previously caused horrendous bottlenecks – particularly at Lisbon airport.
The police reported that Faro airport experienced the largest crowds at around 5.30 a.m. on Friday, with wait times of roughly an hour. OnTime Travel’s Facebook page has only recently uploaded the image above, however, so it is unclear how things have developed over the day. Lusa’s text suggests that “By 9.45 am, delays had been reduced to approximately 20 minutes”. But they may have increased since that time.
Departures at Francisco Sá Carneiro airport in Porto had a similar waiting time, Lusa continues. “For arrivals, the waiting time was only 10 minutes”.
At Lisbon airport, at around 9.45 a.m., waiting times were not much different: around 30 minutes in the departures hall and less than 10 minutes in the arrivals’ hall.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated European Union initiative that replaces traditional passport stamping with the digital registration of biometric data, including facial images and fingerprints, for non-EU citizens, and has been implemented across the EU in phases since October 2025, becoming 100% operational from today.
The system initially came into operation in Portugal and the rest of the Schengen Area on October 12, but the general experience was so bad that it ended up being suspended two months later, while improvements (involving bringing in further staff/ more screening machines) were made.
As for today in Faro, the comment under OnTime Travel’s photo runs like this:
“It’s impossible to remain indifferent to the new system implemented at the airport. What should be synonymous with efficiency, modernity, and better service has turned into utter chaos. Endless queues, exhausted people, constant delays – a real disgrace.
“It’s incomprehensible how, in the 21st century, with all the technology available, we manage to regress instead of evolving. People’s time is not respected. Families with children, the elderly, workers with schedules to keep… all subjected to a seemingly endless disorganization.
“They promised speed, they promised improvements, but the reality is quite different: more confusion, more waiting, more frustration. Those who make these decisions should, at least once, go through the same queues that thousands of passengers are forced to face every day.
“It is urgent to review this system. An airport cannot function like this. It’s not just a matter of comfort; it’s a matter of respect for those who travel and those who work there.
“In my opinion, there should be an agreement between Portugal and the United Kingdom to minimise this negative impact on visitors, with more accessible border crossings.”
Source: LUSA/ Facebook
