A serious procedural mistake by the handling company Groundforce has led to the delay of 17 flights at Lisbon airport due to security fears.
Passengers of a TAP flight from Dakar, Senegal, were dropped off by the airside bus service at one of the entrances designated for Schengen flight arrivals, thus they could have entered the country without the normally stringent security checks.
Airports operator ANA spotted what had gone wrong and the Public Security Police and Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) staff immediately implemented a security crack-down.
The police evacuated the area and the SEF was asked to close down its entry checking services. All passengers in the international zone then were rounded up sent to passport control for rescreening.
The serious error took nearly three hours to resolve on Sunday night before the departures could be reopened. Luggage was checked especially thoroughly in case the 'mistake' had been a deliberate ruse.
Groundforce management has been required to provide ‘clarification on this situation.’
According to a police source, an "irregular arrival of a group of passengers in the international zone happened without them first having been gone through security control. This security breach forced the withdrawal of all passengers from the international zone and re-screening."
There were several flights affected but delays were kept to between 30 and 45 minutes.