Brits face Easter getaway hell at Faro airport
British holidaymakers are facing Easter getaway misery and queuing for hours amid alleged staffing shortages at the main airport in a popular resort area of Portugal.
Travellers claim they have endured three-hour delays at Faro International Airport, alleging that e-Gates malfunctions and a lack of information from airlines.
They described “carnage at the airport”, with children crying and some struggling passengers passing out while waiting in vain to arrive or travel back home to Britain.
A Portuguese police source claimed the disruptions at Faro airport were an “occurrence of a peak in passenger arrivals” and noted the “situation is already normalising”, according to local reports.
The travel chaos comes as staycationers back home in the UK are enduring lengthy waits on traffic-clogged motorways.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has warned that heavy rain in the south of England and parts of Wales will likely cause travel disruption and lead to difficult driving conditions this evening.
Yvette Hughes took to X, formerly Twitter, to challenge airline Jet 2 over the Faro chaos.
She wrote: ‘What the hell is going on? 3 and a half hour’s queuing through security.
“My knees are swollen, someone has passed out, children are crying. Not a bit of information from anyone.”
The airline told her: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. However, the same has been forwarded to us for a quick action.”
“Kindly send us a direct message and we will update you at earliest and accordingly.”
Ms Hughes later responded by saying: “Still queuing and no reply. 4 hours.”
Another passenger posted: “Legitimately been in line for customs for 3 hours at Faro airport. My flight was only an hour and 40.”
And a fellow traveller wrote: “Faro Airport. Not enough staff. Electronic gates that don’t work. People stuck for over 3 hours and not moving. Happy Easter.”
A source within Portugal’s Polícia de Segurança Pública told the Correio da Manhã newspaper that the chaos this morning came amid “peak” passenger arrivals.
“The PSP had all available staff working, with all document control booths open. But it took a while to let passengers on flights that arrived in the morning,” the source said. In the afternoon they added that the situation was ‘normalising’.
Flights appear to be arriving and departing from the airport relatively on time now, according to FlightAware data published this evening.
