More than a thousand passengers were trapped in long queue last Friday at Faro airport. The concentration of flights in the morning clogged the control zone of the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF).
In the space of an hour, 12 flights brought 1,200 passengers to Faro, most from countries outside the Schengen area – particularly the UK – which requires passport control.
Upon arrival, passengers are required to show covid-19 tests and digital certificates, as well as passports. These processes meant SEF staff at the passport control cubicles were occupied for longer than pre-pandemic. To make matters worse, the the electronic passport checkers were being tested at the time.
Despite this apparent influx of people to the Algarve, Faro Airport continues to show losses of around 50%, relative to the phase prior to the pandemic.
To avoid any further situation of excessive queues, the Algarve has already started to pressure the Government to place graduates of the last SEF course at Faro airport, to increase staff numbers.
Photo sourced from Facebook
