Portugal Warns Easter Travelers as Entry/exit System Prompts Passport-Control Waits

(PORTUGAL) — Portuguese airports warned non-EU passengers that they could face passport-control waits of up to two hours during the Easter rush as the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) goes live on April 9, 2026.

The alert, published on April 1, came as Portugal moved to meet the EU-mandated March 31 deadline to register 100 percent of travellers in the new digital system before its formal launch.

Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports are expected to see the heaviest congestion. Those hubs serve Brazilian tourists and executives travelling onward to Schengen destinations, a group singled out because travellers using Brazilian passports will undergo full third-country-national checks.

For Portugal, the warning lands at a sensitive moment. The country already tested the system, pulled it back at its busiest airport after heavy disruption, and then brought it back gradually in early 2026.

Under the EES, non-EU travellers on first entry must provide biometric data in the form of four fingerprints and a facial image. The system replaces the traditional passport stamp process with centralized electronic records.

That change is at the center of the expected delays. Border officials must collect the new data at first entry, adding steps to processing during one of the busiest travel periods of the spring.

Portugal’s warning carries extra weight because of the volume of Brazilian travel to the country. More than 3 million Brazilians visit Portugal annually, and those arriving on Brazilian passports fall under the standard checks applied to third-country nationals.

Brazilians who also hold EU citizenship are likely to face shorter queues. Those using Brazilian passports, however, will go through the full process.

Lisbon Airport has already shown how quickly the new checks can create bottlenecks. Portugal initially launched the EES on October 12, 2025, but later suspended it at Lisbon Airport in late December after delays mounted and queues stretched several hours.

That suspension followed a European Commission assessment carried out between December 15-17, 2025. The unannounced review at Lisbon airport found “serious deficiencies” in border security control and prompted a three-month suspension.

Authorities then reintroduced the system gradually in early 2026. Even with that phased return, queues came back during busy periods, underscoring the pressure the new regime can place on airports that handle large international flows.

The renewed Easter alert suggests officials expect those strains to intensify once the system goes fully live across the bloc on April 9. Non-EU passengers are at the center of those warnings because they must complete the new digital entry process instead of passing through the older stamp-based system.

Lisbon, Porto and Faro now stand out as the most exposed airports in Portugal. Each acts as a gateway for visitors entering the country and, in many cases, for travellers continuing deeper into the Schengen area.

For corporate travel teams, the message is practical. Travel-programme managers were advised to build longer connection buffers for employees transiting Portugal.

That advice reflects the nature of the checks now required. A traveller who misses a connection after a long immigration queue may create knock-on disruption for meetings, onward flights and business schedules, especially during holiday peaks.

Portugal has put in place several measures aimed at cutting waiting times. Eligible third-country nationals can use self-service kiosks to provide biometric data and complete the EES travel questionnaire more quickly.

Officials have also deployed the “Travel to Europe” app, developed by Frontex. The app allows travellers to pre-register their data up to 72 hours before arrival, a step intended to reduce the amount of processing required in person.

Even with those tools, first-time EES processing still adds work at the border. Each eligible traveller must enter the system with the required biometric data, making staffing levels and passenger flow a central issue at major airports.

Portugal moved to reinforce those checkpoints earlier this year. In January 2026, authorities stationed 24 officers from the National Republican Guard at Lisbon Airport to help ease pressure at border controls.

That deployment followed the disruption seen at the end of 2025 and showed how much attention Lisbon Airport has drawn in the rollout. As Portugal’s busiest gateway, delays there can ripple across onward travel plans to other Schengen destinations.

The timing compounds the challenge. Easter travel typically brings heavier passenger volumes, while the EES changes the way border checks are carried out for a large share of arriving travellers from outside the EU.

For Brazilian visitors, that creates a more complicated arrival process than many have been used to. Brazil has long-standing travel ties with Portugal, but Brazilian passport holders now face the same digital registration and biometric collection rules applied to other non-EU nationals entering under the system.

Executives connecting through Portugal may also feel the effect. The warning highlighted business travellers moving onward to Schengen destinations, suggesting the issue is not limited to holidaymakers but extends to corporate itineraries built around tight transfer windows.

The EES is meant to modernize border management by replacing manual passport stamps with a centralized electronic record. In practice, its early operation in Portugal showed that digital upgrades can still produce long physical lines when equipment, staffing and passenger volumes do not align.

That tension was visible in Lisbon late last year. The system had started on October 12, 2025, but airport disruption forced a retreat within months, an unusual step that reflected the operational strain of introducing new border checks at scale.

The European Commission’s intervention added to that pressure. Its assessment between December 15-17, 2025, concluded that Lisbon airport had “serious deficiencies” in border security control, leading to the suspension that followed in late December.

Portugal’s gradual reintroduction in early 2026 did not end the problem. Busy periods brought queues back, showing that the system’s return still left airports vulnerable to surges in traffic.

Now, with the formal launch date set for April 9, 2026, Portuguese airports are preparing travellers for what that may mean in real terms: waits of up to two hours at passport control for non-EU arrivals during the Easter rush.

The March 31 milestone added urgency. Portugal had to register 100 percent of travellers in the new digital system before the formal launch, leaving airports, border authorities and travel operators to adjust their procedures on a fixed EU timetable.

For passengers, the difference often comes down to documentation and status. EU dual citizens travelling on that basis are expected to move faster, while third-country nationals must complete the more extensive arrival procedure tied to the new system.

That split is especially relevant to Brazilian travellers because of the country’s close links with Portugal and the volume of annual travel between them. Some will enter as EU citizens if they hold dual nationality, while others using Brazilian passports will join the longer third-country-national lines.

Airports have tried to steer as many eligible travellers as possible toward pre-processing tools. Self-service kiosks can shorten parts of the border interview, and the Frontex app lets users submit information before landing, up to 72 hours in advance.

Those steps may help manage flow, but they do not remove the need for initial biometric enrolment where it applies. Four fingerprints and a facial image remain part of the first-entry process under the EES.

That requirement helps explain why passport-control waits, rather than check-in or security lines, are the focus of the Portuguese warning. The bottleneck sits at the border checkpoint, where each new digital record must be created and verified.

With Lisbon, Porto and Faro bracing for the heaviest traffic, travellers heading into Portugal or connecting onward through it now face a clear message before Easter: arrive prepared, allow more time, and expect the new border system to slow entry for many non-EU passengers.

For Portugal, the coming days will test whether added officers, self-service kiosks and the “Travel to Europe” app can prevent a repeat of the long queues that forced Lisbon Airport to halt the system in late December.