New border control system back in effect - EES

I have read a couple articles stating that.... bummer! But, didn't the powers to be want to be able to re- instate the postponements if need be?
Hopefully any kinks that were causing delays have been worked out....

Not all airports suspended EES, an individual airport had to request longer term suspension, and some short term (as in part of a day) measures were allowed. For example, Amsterdam Schiphol never suspended EES over the summer, as well as lots of other airports.

As I have said many times, the airports that were problems before EES are still a problem, but now they get to blame it on EES, that unfortunately includes Lisbon.

After 6 September, Jurgen Himmelmann, co-founder and CEO of Global Work & Travel, says travellers should build significantly more time into journeys involving European border controls.
"Getting to the airport early is sensible, but there is a limit to how much control that gives you,” he says. “Bag-drop desks may not be open four hours before departure, and once you're in a passport-control queue, you can't simply skip ahead because your flight is boarding.
“I'd avoid planning a journey around the minimum connection time over the next few weeks. A connection that looks perfectly reasonable on paper can become uncomfortable very quickly if you lose an hour or more at the border."
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/travelling-to-europe-ees-border-checks-are-changing-from-6-september/ar-AA2bz1Lp

Another excerpt :
Under EU rules, countries have been permitted to temporarily suspend the collection of biometric information at individual border crossings when passenger volumes become so high that waiting times become excessive.

From 6 September, that temporary period is expected to expire, meaning airports and border authorities will have less flexibility to ease biometric requirements simply because passport control areas have become overwhelmed.

Good luck to all.

The official app to help non-EU travelers with the European Entry/Exit System (EES) in Portugal is called Travel to Europe. It is a free mobile application available on the App Store* and Google Play Store designed to pre-register your travel details and streamline border controls. Most users on Rick Steves Travel Forum agree that while optional, it helps reduce manual processing times at busy hubs like Lisbon Airport

I downloaded the Travel to Europe some time ago - after reading about it online. At the time I did a quick read through, but today I did a more thorough reading of it - from their PDF they provide through the website.

As I read it, (and correct me if I am wrong) we can fill out the questions, scan and take selfie 7 days prior to arrival. BUT - the authorities will not 'accept' it until 72 hours prior to arrival. Am I correct?

Thanks!

The quoted remarks are from their website PDF.

"Note that the selfie and the passport data are only valid for a 7-days period, after which they need
to be updated. In case the data is about to expire soon, you will see a brown warning sign at the
affected data as shown in fig.45.
If the data has already expired, you will see a red warning sign next to the affected data as shown in
fig.44. "
"After successfully submitting your journey, a label indicating
"Journey submitted" will appear in the journey section (fig. 30).
Once the journey is received by the national authorities, the
label below the journey will change from “Journey submitted”
to “Journey received” (fig. 31).

fig. 30 - Journey submitted
Note that you can submit the journey(s) at the earliest 72 hours before the intended travel date.
Until then, the “Submit Journey” button will remain inactive. This allows border authorities to
process your information before your trip and ensures that your details are up to date.
You can also track the status of your journey(s) by tapping the small bell
fig. 31 - Notifications
icon ( ) on top right, indicating the unread notifications, as shown in
fig.31".

Yes, I am aware that the Travel to Europe app can only be used (currently) in Portugal and Sweden. We are only traveling to Portugal - and this is the Portugal forum.

If you search, there has been mixed reviews as to whether the app is helpful. A number of people have reported downloading the app, filling out the information, then landing and never getting to use it to any effect.

As for the wider "reinstatement" of EES, there does not seem to be any good information on what airports actually exercised a suspension. The only confirmed airports are Lisbon, Porto, and Faro, there were reports of CDG and a few others taking measures for part of a day, but not a suspension. The fact that only Portuguese airports were confirmed, is telling.

Portugal airports, Lisbon in particular has had issues, they had them long before EES, and they still do, like I said, now they can blame EES for the problems. The problem boils down to an airport designed decades ago, handling twice the volume it was designed for, under very different conditions.