Passengers from outside Europe forced to queue for hours today
The ‘arrivals’ misery’ for airport passengers from outside Europe is no longer limited to Faro airport. It is a new frustration for those entering the country via Lisbon’s overstretched Humberto Delgado terminal, too.
Today, hundreds of non-European passport holders had to wait for hours to pass through passport control.
It was not a one-off, or a result of strike action: authorities “guarantee that the entry of foreigners into the country has become more rigorous as of today”.
In a complete oxymoron of an explanation, they refer to the fact that the pan-European system being implemented is all about “innovation, security and confidence”.
Portugal’s homeland security entity SSI carried a statement yesterday announcing that Portugal is entering a new era in border management.
According to SSI, the systems are part of the European plan for the digital transformation of frontier control, using ‘VIS4’ (European Visa Information System), ‘PASSE+’ (National Air and Land Border Control System) and the Border Portal.
These systems “bring more automated, rigorous and efficient management of the entry and exit of national and foreign citizens in the Schengen area, with a direct impact on visa control, biometric registration and the movement history of third country citizens’.
Quoted in the statement, general coordinator of SSI’s Border and Immigration Coordination Unit, Pedro Moura, says these systems are “fundamental to guaranteeing that Portugal is prepared to operate with state-of-the-art European systems at its borders, with the highest standards of security and service to the citizen”.
SSI also informs travellers that during the implementation period there may be an increase in processing time at document checkpoints, especially at international airports”.
According to SSI, passengers can follow the process via the digital channels of organisations involved – SIS, PSP, GNR, AIMA, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, MNE (ministry of foreign affairs) – as well as information provided in the airports themselves.
Within hours of this statement, hideous queues started forming, in Lisbon and Faro, as the new system – requiring the “collection of people’s biometric data”, the taking of their facial images and fingerprints, is still “not fully operational”. This appears to be down to a shortage of staff available to operate this innovative approach to entering the country. ND
source material: SIC Notícias
