Britons forced to stand in four hour airport queue as child ‘faints’
Airport strikes: 'Good chance' settlement could be reached
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Hundreds of British tourists were forced to stand in four-hour queues in a hot and stuffy airport in Portugal after staff shortages. Footage showed Britons standing tightly packed in front of passport barriers at Faro Airport after staff called an unscheduled strike. According to reports, a child even fainted as a result of the situation before being attended to by paramedics.
Sam Jones, 36, from Essex, told MailOnline he has been stuck in the queue – which saw people lining up the suspended escalators and stairs – for nearly four hours after landing at Faro airport at 10.55am this morning.
Sam, who flew from Stansted airport to Portugal with 12 of his friends for a weekend playing golf, said as soon as they landed at Faro airport, they were met with huge queues after the passport workers called an unscheduled strike.
Horrific footage shows a scene of chaos, with a crowd of dismayed passengers standing in a queue that was not moving. The footage pans around to show hundreds more tourists, with no space between them, queuing up the stairs and an escalator.
Sam said: “People are shouting and getting agitated and it’s very hot,” adding that he was told he could be there for up to four hours and he was separated from most of his friends.
“There’s only two people open, and we’re pretty certain that they’ve just gone for lunch and left us all here.”
He added: “At this rate, I don’t think I will make it to the golf course before I fly home Monday. I can’t imagine we are going anywhere soon.”
Staff were said to be handing out water to those waiting, adding that a paramedic was attending to the child who fainted from the heat. And according to others, more people have fainted as a result of the wait times.
Twitter user Matthew Blackford wrote: “Faro airport queues ridiculous. No announcements. Nobody told anything. Missed flights. No water offered. 5 people have now collapsed. Disgraceful.”
Another said it took them three and a half hours to get through the queues, while another added: “I’ve been here for three hours”.
Knut Moe who is also at the scene tweeted: “Dangerous scenes @FaroAirport passport security, people waiting 3+ hours with no water, people dropping like flies, this is a health and safety hazard. Unannounced strike by customs officials apparently the reason.”
Another wrote: “Border control strikes in #Portugal today. 1 person controlling passports. Easily 500+ people in Ireland + UK queue. Staff giving out free water etc.”
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