The "long lines" forming at Lisbon's Portela Airport for passport control for passengers from outside the Schengen area are, according to Michael O'Leary, CEO of the Ryanair Group, an "embarrassment" for Portugal, but one that can be easily resolved, he explained during a press conference in Lisbon.

"In addition to the artificial capacity constraint in Lisbon, we have another problem in Portugal: passport control at Portela. I believe it is a national embarrassment for Portugal," Michael O'Leary said, according to a report by Publituris.

According to the official, who reported that this situation has dragged on "throughout the summer, particularly in arrivals," the problem is due to a lack of agents for this role, which has caused "long wait times at passport control."

Michael O'Leary believes, however, that this problem could be easily resolved by simply making the electronic gates at Lisbon Airport operational, which doesn't always happen.

"Throughout the summer, we've had long lines, particularly in arrivals, in Faro, Porto, and Lisbon, with long wait times at passport control. This is unacceptable, especially when the electronic gates are turned off. Please turn them on," he demanded.

The CEO of the Ryanair Group argued that "if there aren't enough border control agents, which is allegedly the case," then the electronic gates need to be made operational so that passengers can use them.

“Most people now travel with e-passports and should be allowed to use e-gates,” added Michael O’Leary.