Amendment
Taking into account the entire context of the epidemiological situation caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the exceptional measures adopted to deal with this pandemic, it has been put in place interdiction to air traffic to and from Portugal for flights that do not belong to the European Union, starting 14th of November of 2020 at 11:59 pm.
However, there are some exceptions such as:
• Air traffic to and from Portugal is authorized for all flights to and from countries belonging to the European Union, countries associated with the Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom under the terms of the Brexit Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom;
• Flights to and from special administrative countries and regions are also permitted, as well as the entry into Portugal of residents in countries that appear on the list, provided that they have only carried out international transits or transfers at airports located in countries that are not included In the list.
The exceptional countries are as follows:
1 – Australia
2 – China
3 – South Korea
4 – Japan
5 – New Zealand
6 – Rwanda
7 – Singapore
8 – Thailand
9 – Uruguay
Special Administrative Regions (SARs)
1 – Hong Kong.
2 – Macau
• Air traffic to and from Portugal is authorized for all flights to and from countries that are not part of the European Union or that are not countries associated with the Schengen Area exclusively for essential flights.
• Under the terms referred to in Council Recommendation (EU) 2020/1551, of 22 October 2020, essential flights, namely those designed to allow the transit, entry, or departure from Portugal, are from:
(a) National citizens of the European Union, national citizens from countries associated with the Schengen Area and members of their families, and national citizens from other countries legally staying in a Member State of the European Union.
(b) National citizens from other countries traveling for professional, academic, family, health, or humanitarian reasons.
• Flights to support the return of national citizens or holders of residence permits in Portugal and flights of a humanitarian nature, such as flights intended for foreign citizens who are in Portugal to return to their respective countries, provided that such are promoted by the competent authorities of such countries, are also authorized;
• Passengers on essential flights, except transit passengers who do not have to leave airport facilities, must present proof of laboratory testing (RT-PCR) before boarding to screen for SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a negative result, carried out 72 hours before the moment of departure, without which they will not be able to board (The airline may be prosecuted if these citizens are not refused entry in national territory);
• National citizens and foreign citizens with legal residence in national territory and their family members, as well as diplomatic personnel placed in Portugal, and who, exceptionally, do not have proof of laboratory tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection with a negative result, will be sent to competent authorities to carry out the said test at their own expense, upon arrival in national territory;
• Citizens who refuse to carry out the test on arrival in national territory, under the terms of the previous number, are immediately notified by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service to carry out the test within 48 hours, at their own expense, and they may incur the crimes of disobedience and spread of contagious disease, with this notification being informed to health authorities and the local security force in the area where the person lives. (Passengers must remain in the residence or accommodation of their choice until the negative result is notified. If not, they incur the crime of spreading contagious disease).
It should be noted that, however, the application of the fines referred to in the crimes above is not applied to the boarding of national and foreign citizens with legal residence in the national territory without the mentioned test, on flights originating in Portuguese-speaking African countries and on flights to support the return of national citizens, holders of a residence permit in Portugal or flights of humanitarian nature.
