This comes despite an officiel source at the European Commission, in a response sent to the Lusa news agency, having denied that the queues are due to the entry into operation of this new system.

“The challenges faced in Portugal, including longer waiting times, are not related to any problems in the functioning of the Entry/Exit System,” the European Commission insisted, adding that it remains “in contact with Portugal on this matter” and “will continue to provide the necessary support” in this regard.

However, the interior minister added on Friday that there have been fewer problems at Portuguese airports in recent days.

“It is important to look at how operations have gone in recent days. Saturday, for instance, may have been the day of the year when the most passengers used Portuguese airports,” Neves said, adding that the situation “went very well”.

At a time of typically heavy tourist flows, with the summer months approaching, the Portuguese government had already announced last week that, almost with immediate effect, a further 48 PSP officers would be deployed to Lisbon airport, particularly as it handles the largest share of the country’s air traffic.