If you’re flying into Faro airport this half term…

Longhotsummers · 2025-05-20T11:59:03+00:00

Be prepared for a very long wait to go through passport control in a hot building. We’re currently here and have waited 1.5 hours so far with about half an hour to go. Two people checking passports - four UK flights have landed. If you have younger children, go straight to the priority queue as some staff are picking families out of the queue to go through here, but it’s a bit random.

zenas · 20/05/2025 13:00

Can you see if it's the same wait for EU passport holders?

Original poster

Longhotsummers · 20/05/2025 13:04

Yes it is, in this temporary terminal anyway.

OP posts:

slipperypenguin · 20/05/2025 13:05

We heard similar horror stories when we went to Faro last year but it seemed to get better as it got to peak season and we didn’t have any actual issue

SunsetCocktails · 20/05/2025 13:07

Ugh we had that last summer - two and a half hours it took. The guy we got was grumpy as all hell and pulling so many people up who didn’t have enough time left on their passports due to issue dates etc. Unfortunately their e-gates can only be used by over 18s, compared to over 12s in the UK.

Original poster

Longhotsummers · 20/05/2025 13:32

No egates in use unfortunately In what was a temporary building.

OP posts:

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 20/05/2025 13:34

My husband came home from Faro this morning and said the same thing.
He said there was about 2000 people, and only 2 people checking passports. He said that some people even missed their flights.

ThatHazelGuide · 20/05/2025 14:11

I had a terrible experience going through Faro Airport. I won't be flying there again, unless they make significant changes.

queenofshera · 20/05/2025 16:02

Oh no! Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to Faro for the first time towards the end of half term with my (not visibly) disabled DC. I’ll make sure we look out for the priority queue and hope that we are ok to do so.

ThatHazelGuide · 21/05/2025 06:47

Funny you should mention that. I can't stand for long, I become a faint risk. When I asked for a place to sit because I can't stand for long, she look looked me up and down and told me to stand and it was going to be like this all summer now. She said I needed to ask every person in the queue if I wanted to go to the front. I had to stand and spent three days in bed recovering.

zenas · 21/05/2025 09:21

ThatHazelGuide · 21/05/2025 06:47

Funny you should mention that. I can't stand for long, I become a faint risk. When I asked for a place to sit because I can't stand for long, she look looked me up and down and told me to stand and it was going to be like this all summer now. She said I needed to ask every person in the queue if I wanted to go to the front. I had to stand and spent three days in bed recovering.

Would you consider bringing something like a folding camping stool with you like this - it folds down to a round flat disc shape.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Booxihome-Telescopic-Generation-Lightweight-Gardening/dp/B08TR1VTN9/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?sr=8-19-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY

SunsetCocktails · 21/05/2025 10:15

ThatHazelGuide · 20/05/2025 14:11

I had a terrible experience going through Faro Airport. I won't be flying there again, unless they make significant changes.

Edited

We’ve been to Portugal several times and have never known it that bad, but then generally we’ve done April or October. Last year was the first time we went in the summer and I won’t be doing it again. Being tied to summer school holidays you get used to places in Europe being a bit crazy on arrival but Portugal was something else!

ThatHazelGuide · 21/05/2025 11:15

zenas · 21/05/2025 09:21

Would you consider bringing something like a folding camping stool with you like this - it folds down to a round flat disc shape.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Booxihome-Telescopic-Generation-Lightweight-Gardening/dp/B08TR1VTN9/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?sr=8-19-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY

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That's a good idea thank you. I was caught out to be honest. I hadn't expected the awful conditions nor the attitude from staff. I normally sit on my luggage, but we had checked it all in on this occasion. I thought I'd be okay, but when met with a room with no windows, high temperatures, a long queue and no where to sit it became a living nightmare. These conditions aren't great for healthy people, never mind people with health problems.

NoWordForFluffy · 21/05/2025 14:35

queenofshera · 20/05/2025 16:02

Oh no! Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to Faro for the first time towards the end of half term with my (not visibly) disabled DC. I’ll make sure we look out for the priority queue and hope that we are ok to do so.

Contact your airline / holiday company to ask about special assistance at the airport.

Terrribletwos · 21/05/2025 14:39

I found it like this a couple of years ago with the queue stretching up the stairs and the staffing levels atrocious, seems it has just got worse. I would never use that airport again.

gingercat02 · 21/05/2025 14:44

It was the same last summer, we queued for hours in August

Mary46 · 21/05/2025 16:12

This put us off Faro this year. It was awful years ago you think they would sort out staff for peak months

Carriemac · 21/05/2025 16:15

If your spouse has an EU passport you and the kids can go in their queue. It’s usually so much faster

Pinkflower100 · 21/05/2025 16:15

Faro was awful last summer too. We missed our booked taxi and had to fork out for another by the time we were ready to leave.

wizzywig · 21/05/2025 16:15

I saw somewhere that' this is the case for lisbon too. Which is great as I have booked to go

queenofshera · 21/05/2025 16:18

NoWordForFluffy · 21/05/2025 14:35

Contact your airline / holiday company to ask about special assistance at the airport.

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Thanks, I have emailed them. At other airports I’ve just asked for help once we arrive but by the sound of it I don’t want to leave it to chance with Faro.

Original poster

Longhotsummers · 22/05/2025 10:17

We’ve just had a message from EasyJet to advise us to get to the airport extra early as it’s the same issue leaving. Annoying!

OP posts:

TravelBugLove · 29/05/2025 20:10

We were there 4 hrs early on the 28th May 2025 and only just got through to the flight 15 mins before boarding and they were delayed taking off by 15 mins. AND we had an Irish passport in our party so skipped the long UK queues. People defo missing flights with the system they’ve got going. And there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency with the staff either. They only released the gates to check in 2 hrs before our flight and it took 40 mins to get to check bags in because all the easyJet flights were queuing together, hundreds of people in a hot airport. Crazy. If we do it again we’ll buy fast track through security but I don’t know what else we could have done. It was very stressful honestly. Make sure you have a hand fan!!