---
title: "Portugal's Airport Queues in August: Budget an Extra Hour"
description: "EES border checks pushed Porto's passport queues past their reference times on 31 July. What non-EU travellers should expect at Portugal's airports in August."
url: "https://ultimateportugal.com/posts/portugal-airport-queues-ees"
author: "Rex McIntosh"
author_role: "Founder & Editor, Ultimate Portugal"
author_url: "https://ultimateportugal.com/authors/rex-mcintosh"
publisher: "Ultimate Portugal"
license: "Free to read and quote with attribution to Ultimate Portugal."
type: "news"
published: 2026-07-31
updated: 2026-07-31
facts_last_verified: 2026-07-31
category: "Planning"
tags: ["ees", "airports", "border control", "lisbon", "porto", "faro"]
---

# Portugal's Airport Queues in August: Budget an Extra Hour

## The short answer

If you are arriving on a non-EU passport for a short stay, budget an extra hour for passport control at Lisbon, Porto or Faro this August. The PSP's own published maxima in late May ran from 30 to 55 minutes at arrivals, and the EU Entry/Exit System pushed Porto past its reference times on the morning of 31 July 2026. If you hold a Portuguese residence permit, the EES does not apply to you at all.

> Published 2026-07-31. News posts describe the rules as they stood on that date; the sources at the end are the primary record.

Border control at Porto's Francisco Sá Carneiro airport ran *superiores aos parâmetros de referência* — above the reference wait times — on the morning of Friday 31 July. The PSP named the cause in a written statement: constraints in the EU's Entry/Exit System at European level. By early afternoon, the force said, the situation had normalised.

Our advice for the rest of August: if you are arriving on a non-EU passport for a short stay, **budget an extra hour for passport control** at Lisbon, Porto or Faro, and keep room around any onward connection.

If you live in Portugal on a residence permit, none of this is aimed at you. The Entry/Exit System does not register residence-permit holders.

One date is worth a note in the calendar. On **6 September** the rule that lets Portuguese police switch off the slowest part of the check runs out.

## What happened at Porto airport on 31 July?

The PSP's national directorate issued a note early on Friday afternoon. Waiting times at Porto's border control had been "above the reference parameters" that morning, it said, because of "constraints in the EES ('entry/exit system') at European level". By the time the note went out, "the situation is now normalised, with waiting times back within the reference parameters".

As incidents go it was a short one, and the police closed it out the same day. What makes it worth recording is the cause on the record. Porto was already the airport with the worst published waits — its 55-minute arrivals maximum on 31 May was the highest of the three — and Lisbon's queues have made news repeatedly since the Entry/Exit System started in Portugal on 12 October 2025. What 31 July added is the plainest statement yet from the PSP that the system itself, "at European level", is what is stretching the lines.

## How long are the queues, really?

Two kinds of numbers are on the record, and they measure different things.

The PSP publishes its own maxima and has pushed back hard on the wildest circulating claims — reports of six-hour waits it singled out as unverified information that causes "unjustified alarm". Its figures for 31 May, counted to 15:00, looked like this.

| Airport | Longest wait, arrivals | Longest wait, departures |
|---|---|---|
| **Lisbon** (Humberto Delgado) | 32 min | 14 min |
| **Porto** (Sá Carneiro) | 55 min | 35 min |
| **Faro** (Gago Coutinho) | 30 min | 35 min |

PSP maxima for a single day, 31 May 2026, counted to 15:00. The force said arrivals waits that day ran between half an hour and an hour.

Lusa's reporting through the spring also described days when Lisbon's waits ran well past those maxima. Both can be true: the PSP's table is one day counted to mid-afternoon, and the worst reports are other days and other hours. What we would not do is treat a screenshot of somebody's worst morning as a measurement — or a police maximum taken before the school holidays as a promise.

Capacity has gone up since May. Lisbon added 48 PSP officers on 29 May and now has 34 control booths and 31 e-gates at arrivals, 14 more of each than before. Another 360 officers were due to join the national borders unit in July, and the interior ministry promised capacity reinforcements at Porto and Faro over June and July.

No August figures have been published, and May is not August. **The extra hour is ours, not the PSP's** — it is what we would leave in a schedule given 55-minute maxima in May, heavier traffic now, and nothing yet to show the new booths have absorbed it.

## Does the Entry/Exit System apply to you?

For a good share of this site's readers, it does not.

The EES registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, meaning up to 90 days in any 180-day period, each time they cross an external border of the 29 countries using it. It replaced passport stamping on 10 April 2026.

It does not register:

- nationals of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland;
- non-EU nationals holding a long-stay visa or a residence permit issued by a country that operates the EES, Portugal included (permits from Cyprus or Ireland are the exception, and are registered);
- non-EU family members of an EU, Icelandic, Liechtenstein, Norwegian or Swiss citizen who hold a residence card or residence permit, whether or not they are travelling together.

Exempt travellers show a passport and the permit, and give no fingerprints and no facial scan.

For everybody else, the first crossing is the slow one, because it creates the record: name, travel document data, fingerprints, a facial image, and the date and place of entry and exit. Every crossing after that needs "only a quick verification", in the Commission's words.

That first stop happens at the first external border you cross. Fly direct and the PSP registers you in Lisbon, Porto or Faro; connect through another Schengen airport and it happens there instead, leaving you to reach Portugal on an internal flight.

Our guide to [the best time to visit Portugal](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/best-time-to-visit-portugal) already makes the case for late May, June and the second half of September, on weather, crowds and price. It says nothing about queues. The queues point the same way.

## What changes on 6 September?

The relief valve Portuguese airports have been leaning on is written into EU law with an expiry date attached.

Under the EES rollout regulation, a member state may partially suspend the system at a single border crossing point for a **maximum of six hours**, when traffic is heavy enough that the wait becomes excessive. During that window it does not have to register biometric data, and it must tell the European Commission and eu-LISA, the agency that runs the system, within six hours. The entry or exit is still recorded; only the fingerprints and the facial image are dropped.

Portugal has been using it. The PSP's spokesman, Sérgio Soares, told Lusa in May that since 10 April the force has resorted to partial suspension of biometric collection when the wait at an air border post becomes excessive. Departures biometrics were suspended at Lisbon, Porto and Faro on 11 and 12 April, and the government suspended the EES at Lisbon for three months from late December under contingency measures; it is running there again.

The power lasts 90 days from the end of the phased rollout, with an automatic 60-day extension where fewer than 80% of the individual files created during that rollout carried biometric data. The expiry date the member states themselves work to is **6 September 2026**.

Nine European governments would like that pushed back. Portugal and seven other EU states, together with Switzerland, wrote to the European home affairs commissioner, Magnus Brunner, calling the scheduled end "a source of serious and legitimate concern" shared by several member states and by the whole transport sector, and asking for concrete written guarantees before 6 September. Portugal's signature is the interior minister's, Luís Neves.

The Commission has not agreed. Brunner has said only that it would now redouble its efforts to help the member states still facing difficulties. **That is a request, not a rule change.** Until Brussels says otherwise the six-hour valve closes on 6 September, and if your trip falls after that date, the mechanism that has been absorbing the worst mornings may not be there.

## What should you do next?

- Landing and moving on? [Getting around Portugal](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/getting-around-portugal) covers the trains, coaches and travel cards waiting on the other side of passport control.
- Trip not booked yet? [The best time to visit Portugal](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/best-time-to-visit-portugal) makes the case for the shoulder months, and August queues are one more argument for them.
- August already booked? Plan the days around our [7-day Portugal itinerary](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/portugal-itinerary-7-days).

Border rules and the suspension arrangements are moving month to month. Verify the current position with the European Commission's [Entry/Exit System pages](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en) before you travel.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long are the passport queues at Portuguese airports?

The PSP's published maximum on 31 May 2026 was 32 minutes at Lisbon arrivals, 55 minutes at Porto and 30 minutes at Faro, with waits that day running between half an hour and an hour. No August figures have been published. We would leave an extra hour in any August schedule and keep room around an onward connection.

### Does the Entry/Exit System apply to me if I live in Portugal?

No. The European Commission exempts non-EU nationals holding a long-stay visa or a residence permit issued by a country operating the EES, and Portugal operates it. You show your passport and your permit at the border, and you give no fingerprints and no facial scan. Permits issued by Cyprus or Ireland are the exception and are registered.

### What happens on 6 September 2026?

That is the last day member states can partially suspend the EES at a border crossing point for up to six hours when waits become excessive, which the PSP has been using since April. Portugal and eight other governments have asked the European Commission to extend it. The Commission has not agreed, so treat 6 September as the current end date.

## Sources

- [European Commission — Entry/Exit System (EES)](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en) — What the EES records, the 29 participating countries, the 12 October 2025 launch and the 10 April 2026 full operation.
- [European Commission — A more secure, efficient and convenient way of travelling for non-EU nationals](https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/more-secure-efficient-and-convenient-way-travelling-non-eu-nationals-2026-04-10_en) — Short stay defined as 90 days in 180; the first crossing creates the record, later crossings are a quick verification.
- [European Commission — The Entry Exit System is fully operational since 10 April 2026. Who is exempt?](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/entry-exit-system-fully-operational-10-april-2026-who-exempt-2026-07-27_en) — Published 27 July 2026. The exemption list, including residence-permit and long-stay-visa holders, family members with a residence card, and the Cyprus and Ireland exception.
- [Regulation (EU) 2025/1534 — progressive start of operations of the Entry/Exit System](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/1534/oj) — Article 7(3) and (4): the six-hour partial suspension, the biometric exemption, the notification duty, and the 90-day window with its automatic 60-day extension.
- [Observador / Lusa — Aeroporto do Porto com espera no controlo "superior aos parâmetros" durante a manhã](https://observador.pt/2026/07/31/aeroporto-do-porto-com-espera-no-controlo-superior-aos-parametros-durante-a-manha/) — 31 July 2026. The PSP statement on the Porto delays and their cause, and the record of Lisbon's queues since October.
- [Observador / Lusa — PSP. Tempos de espera nas chegadas dos três maiores aeroportos variaram entre meia hora e uma hora](https://observador.pt/2026/05/31/psp-tempos-de-espera-nas-chegadas-dos-tres-maiores-aeroportos-variaram-entre-meia-hora-e-uma-hora/) — PSP wait-time maxima for 31 May 2026, and spokesman Sérgio Soares on the force's use of partial suspension since 10 April.
- [Observador / Lusa — Portugal pede à UE possibilidade de suspender sistema de fronteiras além de setembro](https://observador.pt/2026/07/09/portugal-pede-a-ue-possibilidade-de-suspender-sistema-de-fronteiras-alem-de-setembro/) — 9 July 2026. The nine-government letter to Commissioner Magnus Brunner, its wording, and the Commission's response so far.
- [Observador / Lusa — Aeroporto de Lisboa reforça 48 agentes da PSP e mais boxes e e-gates](https://observador.pt/2026/05/28/aeroporto-de-lisboa-reforca-48-agentes-da-psp-e-mais-boxes-e-e-gates-a-partir-de-sexta-feira-para-reduzir-filas/) — Interior ministry figures on extra officers, booths and e-gates, and the April suspension of departures biometrics.
- [Observador / Lusa — PSP diz que tempo de espera máximo esta terça-feira nos aeroportos é inferior a uma hora](https://observador.pt/2026/05/19/psp-diz-que-tempo-de-espera-maximo-esta-terca-feira-nos-aeroportos-e-inferior-a-uma-hora/) — 19 May 2026 wait times, and the PSP's public rejection of reports of multi-hour delays.

---

Ultimate Portugal — https://ultimateportugal.com
HTML version of this page: https://ultimateportugal.com/posts/portugal-airport-queues-ees