Ryanair has blasted Portuguese border control, saying its passengers have “suffered” through long delays or have missed flights due to staff shortages.
The budget airline carrier called on the Portuguese government to “urgently fix” border control staff shortages at some of the country's busiest airports, including Faro, Lisbon and Porto.
Ryanair said that passengers, many of whom are travelling with young families, are “suffering” due to unnecessary border control delays of up to two and a half hours.
The airline added that over the last two weeks alone, from 26 May to 9 June, over 270 passengers travelling from Faro, Lisbon or Porto airports have missed their flights.
It blames this on border control delays due to a lack of staff. The airline has called on the government to adequately staff border control, especially during the peak morning period.
Ryanair’s COO, Neal McMahon said said that the staff shortages are “unacceptable”.
“Over 270 passengers have missed their flights just because the airport operator, ANA, has not ensured that adequate staff are in place to manage border control at Faro, Lisbon, and Porto Airports – some of Portugal’s main airports,” he added.
“This is not good enough, and the problem will only worsen as we go further into the summer season and traffic numbers increase.”
Mr McMahon said that Ryanair calls on the new government “to urgently intervene” so that “Portuguese families will not be forced to suffer 2.5-hour-long queues just to get away on their well-deserved holidays.”
Ryanair’s statement comes a week after Faro Airport announced it would roll out e-gate access for British arrivals.
Faro is a popular destination for Brits to visit, being the gateway to the Algarve region, dotted with golf courses and long, sandy beaches backed by dramatic cliffs.
The UK government expects that British holidaymakers in their “millions” will be able to use e-gate technology this summer.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer struck the deal last month. He said that “for holidaymakers wanting to get out this summer, they will want to know that they can do so easily and without delay and chaos”.
However, British passengers at Faro Airport say they are still caught up in long queues of nearly half an hour at border control.
Francisco Vieira Pita, director of ANAl, told local media last month that 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 said.
According to local press, Portugal’s PSP police force announced it would be deploying 500 new officers to boost border control in Portuguese airports by July, hoping to fix the issue amid the summer tourist boom.
The Independent has contacted Vinci Airports, owner of ANA, for comment.
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