The government has approved a new regime of fines to be levied against any airline transporting passengers to Portugal from ‘high risk’ countries without ensuring they’re carrying ‘negative’ tests for Covid-19.
In other words, it is now mandatory that anyone arriving in Portugal from the United States, Brazil, or any other non-EU/ non-Schengen space countries must be in possession of a negative molecular RT-PCR test (standing for real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test) for SARS-COV-2, taken in the previous 72-hours.
If they aren’t, they risk being fined between €500 to €2000, while the airline that transported them faces the much higher fine of €3000.
ANA airports authority – already struggling with the government’s virus-led demands (click here) – is obliged to provide infra-red temperature testing for all incoming passengers, and be ready to ‘contain’ any that display signs of having a fever.
This new ‘regime’ does not apply to the airports in the autonomous regions of Madeira and Azores which are applying their own form of virus checks.
It does however have a clause for passengers who refuse to have their temperatures taken. These will be liable to fines of between €2000-€3000.
Say reports, “compliance with these obligations will be enforced by ANAC (the national civil aviation authority) and SEF (borders control agency).
