Faro, Portugal, May 21, 2026 (Lusa) - Travel agencies and tourism transport companies in the Algarve, southern Portugal, said on Thursday that long queues at Faro airport caused financial losses, warning of “unsustainable delays” for passengers arriving from outside the Schengen Area.
Carmen Dias, head of the All Travel agency based in Portimão, told Lusa that border control delays at Faro airport “had caused serious constraints” for tour operators regarding tourist mobility.
“Waiting times are between two and three hours, but we have had drivers waiting for passengers for four to five hours due to long border control queues,” she said, adding that most cases affect tourists from the UK.
The constraints at domestic airports stem from the new European border control system that collects biometric data (facial images and fingerprints) from passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area.
Dias said the airport constraints directly affect service organisation and create extra costs for companies, “because holding passenger transport vehicles at the airport compromises other services scheduled for the same day.”
“In addition to holding up vehicles that carry tourists to their accommodation, we must bear high parking costs at the airport structure,” she said.
She also warned about the situation's impact on the region's tourism image, noting that “people, including many children, arrive tired and frustrated after waiting for hours to enter the country.”
She added, “The first impression they get of the Algarve is not positive at all. They complain about the waiting time to leave the airport, which is sometimes longer than the flight itself.”
Other tour operators from Albufeira and Vilamoura, whom Lusa contacted, reported similar difficulties, pointing out “the lack of staff at border control and the operation of the IT control system.”
“It is a system that is unable to respond efficiently and quickly to passenger control during peak landings of passengers coming from outside the Schengen area,” they said.
Companies call for more staff and better coordination between airport management and border services to reduce waiting times and prevent further constraints at the Algarve's main tourism gateway.
The operators told Lusa they advocate suspending the Entry/Exit System (EES, an automated EU border registry) during peak flight periods, considering it would be the “most sensible measure to avoid damaging the Algarve's image” and causing losses to companies.
“Even so, tourists like the region and do not express a desire not to return,” one tour operator said.
An airport management source in Faro acknowledged “periods of greater operational pressure”, saying they are making efforts alongside authorities “to improve processing flow” for passengers.
Portugal's government acknowledged the EES difficulties, and the prime minister said last Monday he might suspend biometric data collection at certain airport border crossings “when traffic intensity could generate excessive waiting times.”
Faro airport is one of the main gateways to Portugal, welcoming millions of passengers annually, particularly from the UK.
JPC/LYT // ADB.
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