Algarve MP for CDS-PP, Teresa Caeiro, has asked the government if it is aware of reports of long queues at Faro Airport’s arrivals area, and if it plans to do anything about it.
As the Resident reported last week (click here), passengers have been complaining of long queues forming at the airport’s arrivals area, with some even “fainting” while in line. It is believed to be a result of the “record number” of people coming on holiday to the Algarve.
Citing “regional press reports”, the MP has now brought the issue to the government’s attention.
She explains that even though Portugal’s border control authority (SEF) has reinforced its presence at the airport, with all six passport control booths manned, every time a situation is detected that requires more attention from the SEF officers (such as arrest warrants and false documents), the waiting time increases.
Caeiro adds that the electronic booths have been there since 2004, “were never substituted” and do not work well, often causing “several problems and complaints”.
On a closing note, the politician asks the Ministry of Infrastructures and Planning if it is aware of what is going, what measures are being taken to deal with the issue and allow people to pass through passport control “faster and more efficiently”, and when the passport control area will be increased as part of the airport’s expansion plans.
