Speaking to the Lusa news agency, Carmen Dias, head of the Portimão-based agency All Travel, stated that delays at border control at Gago Coutinho Airport “have caused severe disruptions” to tour operators' tourist mobility.

Long waiting times

“Wait times range from two to three hours, but we have had drivers idling for passengers for four to five hours due to extended queues at border control,” said the businesswoman, noting that most cases affect tourists arriving from the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland).

The disruptions at national airports are linked to the new European border control system, which collects biometric data (facial images and fingerprints) from passengers arriving from outside the Schengen Area.

Increasing costs

According to Carmen Dias, the airport disruption directly affects service scheduling and entails increased costs for companies, “because the immobilisation of passenger transport vehicles at the airport ultimately compromises other services scheduled for the same day.”

“In addition to having vehicles immobilised while transporting tourists to their accommodations, we must bear elevated parking costs within the airport complex,” she lamented.

The agency head also warned about the situation's impact on the Algarve’s tourism reputation, noting that “people—many of them children—arrive exhausted and frustrated after waiting for hours to enter the country.”

She continued: “The first impression visitors receive of the Algarve is not positive at all. They complain that the wait time to leave the airport is, at times, longer than the flight itself,” she pointed out.

Lack of personnel at border control

Other tour operators in Albufeira and Vilamoura contacted by Lusa reported similar difficulties, criticising “the lack of personnel at border control and the functioning of the implemented computerised control system.”

“It is a system that has proven incapable of responding efficiently and rapidly to passenger screening during peak arrival periods for travellers arriving from outside the Schengen Area,” they argue.

The companies advocate for increased staffing and better coordination between airport management entities and border services to reduce waiting times and prevent further disruptions at the Algarve’s main tourism gateway.

The operators contacted by Lusa advocate suspending the Entry/Exit System (EES) during periods of high flight volume, deeming it the “most sensible measure to avoid damaging the Algarve’s image” and causing financial losses for businesses.

“Even so, tourists enjoy the region and do not express any intention of not returning,” concluded one of the tour operators.

Operational pressure

A source linked to airport management in Faro acknowledged to Lusa that there have been “periods of increased operational pressure,” assuring that efforts are being made in conjunction with the competent authorities “to improve the flow of passenger processing.”

The Government has acknowledged the difficulties associated with the EES system, and the Prime Minister stated last Monday that he would consider suspending the collection of biometric data at specific airport border crossing points “whenever traffic volume risks generating excessive waiting times.”

Faro’s Gago Coutinho Airport serves as one of Portugal’s primary gateways for tourism, welcoming millions of passengers annually, with the British market being a particularly significant contributor.