"As of midnight tomorrow, all international flights outside the European Union and outside the European Union to any national airport will be suspended", announced António Costa, in a press conference at the Secretary of State for Affairs Europeans, in Lisbon, after an Extraordinary European Council, which took place by videoconference.
The exceptions, he added, will be the extra-community countries where there is a "strong presence of Portuguese communities", such as Canada, the United States, Venezuela and South Africa, and the Portuguese-speaking countries.
However, in the specific case of Brazil, the routes will be restricted to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with all others being suspended.
"As for internal borders, the principle of freedom of movement within the European Union was reaffirmed, except for occasional situations that have been in existence and it was agreed that there would be no unilateral measures", he said, pointing to the example of the restrictions already agreed bilaterally between Portugal and Spain.
These measures are intended to combat the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic, with António Costa admitting that they will have "a highly disturbing effect" on the lives of citizens.
"That is why they must always be taken with account, weight and measure," he said, adding that it is necessary, through the exceptions that each country can introduce, "with respect for the values and sense of community".
In the questioning phase of journalists, the Prime Minister explained that the rules applicable to movement between Member States of the European Union also apply to the countries of the Schengen area and the United Kingdom, which for this purpose "is not treated as a country third, but from the European Union ".
"On internal flights, the principle of freedom of movement has to prevail, with the introduction of sanitary and temperature controls on boardings and disembarkations", he added.
Asked about the announcements by the Angolan and Guinea-Bissau authorities to suspend flights from Portugal, the prime minister replied that these are sovereign states, which may decide to apply unilateral restrictions.
"If Angola closes flights originating in Portugal, we will not have flights from Angola to Portugal," he said, applying the same principle to Guinea-Bissau.
