The government of Portugal announced this Tuesday the suspension for three months of the new European immigration system at Lisbon airport after the long queues and waits it has caused since its implementation in October.
This was communicated by the Ministry of Internal Administration (of the Interior) in a press release in which it announced the “immediate suspension for three months of the use of the EES computer system”, as well as a reffort of 30% of the capacity of border teamsboth physical and electronic.
Like the rest of the Schengen area countries (in total 29, the entire European Union, with the exception of Cyprus and Ireland, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein), Portugal introduced the new European entry and exit system (EES, acronym for “Entry Exit System”).
The new electronic border control system, which uses passengers’ biometric data, began operating at the Portuguese capital’s airport last October and Since then there have been long queues. That same month of December, the Minister of Internal Administration, Maria Lúcia Amaral, recognized that its implementation “went badly.”
The average wait at Lisbon airport is three hoursbut on some days they went up to six, as Amaral confirmed during an appearance in Parliament on the matter.
This mechanism serves to digitally register foreigners who enter the Schengen area and automatically collects biometric data on the face and fingerprints of citizens of third countries who enter this area.
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