The increase in waiting times, driven by the new European control system, is causing passengers to miss connecting flights and forcing airlines to recommend increasingly earlier arrival times at terminals.

Travelling from Portuguese airports has become a challenge of patience and logistics. According to RENA, the Association of Airlines in Portugal, the average control time per passenger, both on arrival and departure, has increased by 4 to 5 times the usual level.

This widespread worsening is due to the implementation of the new European border control system, a dossier that, according to the association's executive director, António Moura Portugal, was not properly prepared by the country.

The situation is particularly serious at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, where the infrastructure's structural limitations clash with the increased bureaucratic requirements. Moura Portugal points out that Portugal has failed to coordinate and reinforce human resources, underlining that the situation is exacerbated by a "highly congested" infrastructure.

The leader also criticises airport management, suggesting that "too much priority has been given to the commercial side" at the expense of operational efficiency, and that border policing has been underinvested in since the abolition of the SEF (Immigration and Borders Service).

Faced with the risk of the summer becoming "uncontrollable", a warning already shared by the Airports Council International, RENA (National Association of Airport Workers) is calling on the Government and authorities to adopt more flexible rules.

Currently, the Public Security Police (PSP) temporarily suspends the collection of biometric data (such as facial recognition and fingerprints) when waiting times exceed 30 minutes, but only for limited periods.

Airlines argue that this suspension can be extended for more than six hours during peak passenger traffic without triggering sanctions from the European Union.

Alongside the chaos at the borders, the sector is closely monitoring the instability in the Middle East and its impact on jet fuel prices.

Despite admitting concern about costs, António Moura Portugal, for now, dismisses any alarming scenario or risk of fuel shortages that would force a reduction in flights to and from Portugal.

However, the executive insists on the need to make slot-use rules more flexible to avoid "ghost flights", trips operated solely to avoid missing landing and takeoff times, and also suggests reducing traffic fees at certain airports to sustain demand in an uncertain economic environment.

While regulatory solutions are pending, the advice for travellers remains unchanged: anticipation is the only safeguard against a border system that appears to be operating at the limit of its capacity.