Budget airline Ryanair said more than 270 passengers have missed their flights over the past two weeks due to extensive queues and chronic understaffing at border control
Ryanair has issued a stark warning to holidaymakers after travel chaos at several airports in Portugal meant that hundreds were left stranded at departure gates.
The budget airline said more than 270 passengers have missed their flights over the past two weeks due to extensive queues and chronic understaffing at border control. The worst delays are being felt in Faro, Lisbon and Porto airports, with wait times reportedly stretching to a staggering two and a half hours. In a statement issued on Monday, Ryanair slammed the situation as “completely unacceptable”, calling on Portugal’s new government to sort out the staffing crisis.
“In just the past two weeks, over 270 passengers missed their flights at these airports due to excessive delays caused by understaffed border controls,” Ryanair said.
The trouble began to escalate around May 26, with the airline warning that families, including those travelling with young children, were being caught up in the mess. The issue is said to be especially bad during morning rush hours, when passenger numbers swell and border posts are swamped.
Ryanair placed the blame with airport operator ANA, accusing it of failing to prepare adequately for the annual summer travel surge. “The new government should take urgent measures to ensure that border control at Portuguese airport is duly equipped with resources,” the statement continued.
It also stressed that action must be taken now to prevent further chaos as peak season looms large, “especially during the morning rush hour, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and more people unfairly missing their flights”.
Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s Director Of Operations, branded the situation as “unsustainable,” warning things will only get worse as air traffic ramps up over the summer months.
Last week, Portugal’s Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, moved to calm growing concerns, promising that border control issues should be “resolved within two weeks”.
The PSP police force has meanwhile pledged to deploy 500 new officers to reinforce airport security and border posts at Lisbon, Porto, Madeira, and the Azores from July.
In the meantime, an early reinforcements push is already underway at Faro Airport, where the situation has been particularly dire. Passengers heading to or through Portugal are now being strongly advised to arrive at the airport extra early – or risk being left behind.
This comes after travel companies reported thousands of UK holidaymakers are ditching traditional European hotspots in favour of north Africa. Experts say many people are being drawn to the region by its wide availability of high-quality hotels costing considerably less than similar properties in locations such as Spain, France and Italy.
North African countries Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are all experiencing a boost in visitors from the UK. Figures from aviation analysts Cirium show 19,847 flights are projected to serve routes from UK airports to those nations this year, more than twice as many as the 8,653 that did so in 2019.
By comparison, the number of flights to Spain and Portugal is forecast to increase by 10% and 9% respectively over the same period.