Portugal warns Easter travellers of two-hour border queues as EU Entry/Exit System goes live

Portuguese airports have issued an alert that non-EU passengers—including the more than 3 million Brazilians who visit annually—could face passport-control waits of up to two hours during the Easter rush. The warning, published late on 1 April, comes as Portugal races to meet the EU-mandated 31 March deadline to register 100 per cent of travellers in the new digital Entry/Exit System (EES) before its formal launch on 9 April. Under EES, first-time arrivals must provide fingerprints or facial images and have their passports scanned into a central database that replaces manual stamping. Airport association ACI Europe and airline lobby A4E say the extra steps may double processing times during the transition.



Travellers looking to minimise surprises can also leverage visa and entry-requirement specialists: VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers up-to-date guidance on Schengen border changes, personalised alerts, and document-processing support, streamlining everything from EES pre-enrolment advice to future ETIAS applications.

Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports—key gateways for Brazilian tourists and executives connecting onward to Schengen destinations—expect the heaviest congestion. Travel-programme managers should advise employees transiting Portugal to build longer connection buffers and, where possible, use biometric self-service lanes once enrolled. For Brazilians holding EU dual citizenship the queues should be shorter, but those travelling on Brazilian passports will undergo full third-country-national checks. The Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), due later in 2026, will add another pre-travel layer, making early preparation essential. Tour operators fear negative headlines could deter last-minute Easter bookings, but authorities insist delays will subside once the database contains returning travellers’ biometrics. In the meantime, mobile-first queue-management apps are being trialled, and additional staff have been redeployed from quieter regional airports. For companies with frequent Brazil-EU travel, the episode underscores the importance of monitoring Schengen-border digitisation projects. Failure to plan for processing spikes can lead to missed meetings, tight layovers and re-ticketing costs that quickly erode travel budgets.