Portugal Approves Flights Between EU/Schengen Countries, and UK

Portugal has facilitated its existing air traffic measures to allow flights to and from its territory to countries of Schengen Zone, European Union and the United Kingdom, following the recommendation of the European Council.

The Portuguese government stressed that European Council recommendation also foresees the authorisation of the flights from “countries with a positive epidemiological evaluation and subject to confirmation of reciprocity,”

Countries that will be permitted to enter Portugal outside of EU include Algeria, Canada, South Korea, Morocco, Tunisia and China. Exceptions for essential journeys contain “flights from Portuguese-speaking countries” and the United States. However, when it comes to Brazil, only flights to and from  Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will be allowed.

Citizens of the European Union and Schengen Area, as well as their families, are included in “essential trips.”

Other cases are the journeys of “third-country nationals travelling for work, study, family reunification, health or humanitarian reasons and following the principle of reciprocity”.

Travellers on flights from Portuguese-speaking countries and the USA are required to present a proof of a negative COVID-19 test, at the time of departure.

Yesterday (July 1), Portugal and Spain have reopened their shared border, after three and a half months, as it remained closed due to Coronavirus situation.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa met with Spain’s King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to commemorate the reopening of their shared border. They also symbolically crossed the border between Badajoz in Extremadura and Caia in Portugal.

Portugal has also begun welcoming tourists from 15 “safe” countries outside of the European Union, upon a recommendation of the EU Council, which considers these countries to have a lower rate of Coronavirus infection.

In May, Portugal announced that would soon open its borders for tourists from a selected number of countries, mostly for the EU Member States and Portuguese speaking countries.

“Tourists are welcome in Portugal, [this summer],” the Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva pointed out in an interview, despite not giving any specific date when that would happen.