Just what returning holidaymakers do now want on a hot, stuffy Sunday night at Faro airport, two hour queues at a passport control area manned by one, 'work to rule' SEF officer.Airport operator, the French-owned ANA, failed to inform passengers what was going on as increasing panic took hold as passengers realised they were going to miss their flight.
Thankfully, there is social media which has ensured the completely unacceptable situation at faro airport has not gone unrecorded.
Unluckily for ANA’s timid management, among the angry passengers waiting to return to Ireland was RTÉ presenter Brenda Donohue who ensured the story has been splashed across the pages of the Irish Times.
“We arrived in the airport with plenty of time to spare and made it through check-in and the security checks without any difficulties. But when we went down into the passport concourse the problems started,” said Donohue.
“There were around twenty passport gates as well as the electronic gates, but when we approached there were hundreds and hundreds of people ahead of us. Only one guy seemed to be on passport duty, and he appeared to be going as slowly as it is possible to go.”
Other security staff were seen milling about, “They were just standing around, and they refused to engage with anyone,” said Donohue. “No one could hear any of the announcements being made about flights, the heat was stifling and there was absolutely no crowd control.”
“When a man ahead of her asked if his wife, who was seven months pregnant, could be let through, staff just shrugged and his request was refused,” continued Donohue who, after waiting for almost two hours, heard a call for her flight to Dublin.
“Loads of people just milled towards that one guy on passport control, and he immediately stopped what he was doing. He just walked away. We were all left waiting for another 15 or 20 minutes without anything happening before the single passport-check gate reopened.”
“There were some people who were seriously panicking because it was so claustrophobic and because they were afraid they would miss their flights.”
There was some good sense displayed by Aer Lingus whose crew managed to get their flight delayed by half an hour so at least they could take off with some passengers aboard.
“I tried to find out what was going on from airport staff, but no one seemed to have a clue. I asked one staff member if it had happened before and he said it had, at weekends, but never as bad as last night.”
Faro Airport boasts that it can accommodate more than six million passengers a year and handle 3,000 people- an-hour after a €33 million redevelopment.
Photo from Brenda Donohue
Comments
You seem to forget that a world exists outside the E.U., you will still have to put up with this bureaucratic incompetence if you fly to anywhere else.
And then unleash the myriad problems that Schengen is causing...good luck with that.
Received a very offhand reply that it is a matter for passengers to ensure that they arrive at the airport in plenty of time.
They made no attempt to answer my question.
Some example of customer service :-(