A source from the Public Security Police told Lusa that the training course for 500 new officers will end in July, and at that time all PSP district commands will be reinforced, with some of the new officers being placed in the airport security and border control divisions of the airports of Lisbon, Porto, Madeira and Azores.
In Faro, the security force said in a response sent to Lusa that the national leadership of the PSP decided to “quickly bring forward the reinforcement already planned for the summer” with the allocation of 14 to 20 more police officers from other commands in the country.
This early reinforcement at Faro airport aims to provide “an immediate response to operational needs” and “allow greater response capacity and relief from the current pressure”.
Last week, new border control systems were installed at Portuguese airports, which is causing thousands of passengers from countries outside the Schengen Area to wait several hours for immigration control.
On Tuesday, the Police Professionals’ Trade Union Association (ASPP/PSP) warned of the exhaustion of professionals assigned to the Immigration and Borders Unit due to various situations that are being experienced at airports, and drew attention to the fact that with summer approaching, efforts are needed to “overcome obstacles and mitigate harm to citizens, but mainly to PSP professionals”.
Unbearable
The trade union highlights the operational constraints that result in daily major delays and huge queues, a situation that the union considers “unbearable for the normal functioning of that service”.
In its response to Lusa, the PSP national management said that the implementation of the new European border control system “has numerous challenges” and “requires new technologies, training and more human resources”, admitting that “all police officers working at the air border will be the first to experience these changes”.
“This effort that is being required in terms of workload during this transition phase will only be mitigated by investing in training border police officers, improving technologies and working conditions. This is the commitment during this transition phase. But at the same time, we are investing in training, in the qualification of more resources and more technological capabilities for a more efficient and effective border”, the police force states.
The PSP highlights that the national management “clearly recognises and values the effort and dedication of the police officers who, on the ground, have been fulfilling their mission with a high sense of responsibility, often going beyond what is required of them, demonstrating a strong sense of mission and an unwavering commitment to public service”.
“Finding solutions”
The PSP also states that it has been closely monitoring the situation at airports and has been, “in coordination with the management of the ASPP and other representative structures”, “finding solutions to mitigate the constraints identified and improve the working conditions of professionals”.
Last week, the Internal Security System (SSI) announced that the implementation of the new ‘VIS4EES’, ‘Passe +’ and ‘Portal Fronteiras’ systems at air and sea borders at the European level had been successfully completed.
The SSI also mentioned that there had been “no significant impact on waiting times compared to normal”.
After the statement from the largest PSP union alerting to the situation at airports, Lusa contacted the SSI, but received no response.
It’s a shame that the operations management of the airport and border/police force has no way of forecasting how busy they would be at certain times!
Oh wait…
Do you think they might be able to look at flight schedules and work out how many people are landing from different countries at different times and work out how busy they might be? Surely not? That’s a bit of a technological stretch perhaps?! Maybe it’s just every other country in the world that can do that. Too much for poor old Portugal to think about.
Whoever is in charge of management needs a kick up the proverbial. It’s unsafe, negligent and completely predictable and these issues are entirely preventable, and the net result causes tensions between foreigners and police, as well as completely undermining all of the good work done by tourism Portugal.
By Anon from Algarve on 30 May 2025, 09:30
Here we go again. Every spring and summer exactly the same issues with humongous waiting lines for passport check in Faro. When will they learn to plan. It’s ridiculous as it’s not that difficult as it’s a repeating issue since many manny years back. .
Come on. Get a grip on it!!!
By Marty from Algarve on 30 May 2025, 09:57
It never ceases to amaze me how profoundly incompetent Portugal continues to be at executing this basic function.
By Tuga McTugason from Other on 30 May 2025, 10:01
It’s not more police they need ITS MORE BORDER FORCE OFFICERS. This problem has been going on since Brexit got nothing to do with new systems being operated . It’s disgusting how we are treated in this boiling hot airport when we contribute so much to your economy.
By Marie from UK on 30 May 2025, 10:20
I congratulate the PSP on their proactive approach to dealing with the obvious summer influx of tourists.
By David from Algarve on 30 May 2025, 19:38
For those living or visiting the East Algarve the solution is simple - fly to/from Sevilla. Unlike Faro, the airport amazingly seems able to predict that flights are arriving & ensures sufficient border staff are available.
By Mark Barber from Algarve on 04 Jun 2025, 10:38