Officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex will be deployed in Portuguese airports from January 2026 to help reinforce Portuguese border police.
Portugal’s Public Security Police (PSP) announced on Monday (November 24) they would be working alongside officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex beginning in January 2026.
The officers will join the PSP teams gradually between January and March, but by March, 48 Frontex officers will be stationed at Lisbon and Porto airports. This is according to media reports by various Portuguese news sources, including the news agencies TPN and Lusa, as well as an English-speaking news portal Portugal Pulse.
When the patrols are operating at full capacity, there should be 26 Frontex officers stationed at Lisbon airport, 23 of whom will serve as border guards, and 12 officers at Porto airport, eight of whom will serve as border guards. Faro airport in the south of the country will receive ten Frontex officers, six of whom will serve as border guards.
Long queues
There have been reports of long queues for passengers at Portuguese airports this autumn, partly as a result of the introduction of the new European border control system for non-EU citizens, the entry/exit system (EES).
Up until now, there have been just four Frontex officers stationed in Portugal, the PSP told Portugal Pulse.
As of next year, there will also be 100 Portuguese police officers who have received Frontex training so that they will be certified for air escort tasks, assisting with deportations and returns.
Two years ago, the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) was disbanded and air border control was mostly handed over to the PSP. A unit (National Unit of Foreigners and Borders UNEF) was established in August 2021, which is mostly concerned with removal, readmission and return of individuals in irregular situations.
There are about 1,200 police officers with UNEF at the moment who work both in airports and carry out territorial inspections.
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Portuguese officers deployed to Frontex in Greek operations
According to a recent Frontex post on Facebook, Portuguese officers working for Frontex are also among the most numerous deployed in Frontex operations in Greece and Cyprus.
Officers from the Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana and the Autoridade Maritima Nacional have been sharing rescue vessels to patrol the Greek coastline, working alongside the Greek coast guard.
The Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel recently visited Greece and met with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and visited the Frontex command center in Athens.