One frustrated passenger says he is selling his property in the Algarve because of the negative airport experience
What should be the start of a relaxing holiday in the sun is turning into a trial of endurance for passengers arriving at Faro Airport, where long queues and passport control delays of up to three hours are yet again leaving travellers tired, angry, and questioning the Algarve‘s readiness for peak tourism.
Over the past week, reports have intensified about the airport’s continued inability to efficiently process incoming passengers.
Passenger Edward Carter, a regular traveller from England to Portugal and Faro in particular, told the Resident about the long queues he faced on Sunday morning (May 18).
“The delays occurred in the aftermath of a large number of flight arrivals, but the passenger numbers were apparently as expected. In fact, on the day of the delay, passengers on Jet2, for example, were sent text messages warning of the delay at about 5am,” he said. “The delay was unacceptable, affecting as it did, so many people with special assistance needs, senior citizens and also families with small children. In the area of the queue there was inadequate access to toilets and no water, which would have affected vulnerable travellers with health issues for example.”
The passenger says he asked if he could complain to someone in charge or to management or a senior border police officer but was told it was not possible.
“I was told that Faro is the only airport in Portugal where these delays are suffered and the issue seems to be down to lack of management planning and organisation. The tourist industry is going to be adversely affected if passengers face delays like this and no-one admits responsibility. There needs to be an enquiry into what is going wrong so remedial action can be taken”.
Carter’s experience is far from unique. Complaints have been mounting from both tourists and residents. James Brooks, a British property owner in the Algarve, expressed his disillusionment in an email to the Resident.
“In my experience, the waiting times have been worse than ever this year,” he said, reporting waiting times of nearly three hours as well.
“This needs exposing. I’m a property owner in the Algarve and we are now selling because of the airport experience,” he stated.
Meanwhile, APAL – Agência de Promoção de Albufeira, the town’s tourism promotion agency, released an official statement expressing “deep concern” about the long queues and delays at the airport, warning that such issues jeopardise the region’s image and economic health.
“It is fundamental to stress that this is not an isolated incident,” the agency noted. “The repetition of these failures compromises the quality of the tourism offering in the Algarve and undermines the perception of efficiency in our welcoming services.”
While last summer the government vowed to address slow processing times at Faro and Lisbon airports, passengers and tourism stakeholders alike are questioning whether meaningful action has been taken. APAL has called on the Portuguese government, ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, and other relevant authorities to implement “urgent and structural” solutions.
Security system update to blame, says ANA boss
Speaking to journalists on Saturday at the ceremony to mark the inaugural United Airlines flight from New York (Newark) to Faro, Francisco Vieira Pita, director of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, said border control authorities are in the process of updating the Internal Security System (SSI).
“That upgrade is, in fact, causing longer wait times in some cases. ANA is working closely with the relevant authorities to minimise the impact on passengers’ experience,” he told journalists.
Vieira Pita insisted that this is a “temporary situation” and also made clear that ANA is operating within its assigned capacity, implying that staffing issues on the part of PSP police are beyond the airport’s control.
