I’m wondering how this works, for example I’ve read recently about extremely long delays entering Portugal from the Lisbon airport due to issues rolling out ETIAS. (3 hours or more of traveler wait time)
In this case what happens to the checked luggage of those passengers who are waiting in line? Does it sit out there in the carousel for hours until collection or is it held back until the passengers start arriving?
Do you mean the EES Entry/Exit System?
Passengers with an EU passport don’t have to go thru the EES-registration. Nor do those who’ve already registered. It’s impossible to know to which category a suitcase belongs, so all luggage will be on the belt at the same time.
Does it sit out there in the carousel for hours until collection or is it held back until the passengers start arriving?
The luggage would either be on the carousel or pulled off and set near the carousel. It would still be within the secure area as you still need to go through customs.
It gets put on the carousel as usual and then taken off and put into the left luggage area. They’ll need the carousel for the next flights.
