Faro Airport

✅ Trip Verified | The absolute pits. What a disaster! Faro airport used to work, but not anymore. ok, it was a little run down but it fulfilled its function perfectly well, i.e. getting people on and off planes with as little trouble as possible. Oh no, not now! After spending millions on a strange refurbishment and inconveniencing passengers for the last couple of years, the new and improved Faro airport is an unmitigated disaster. It is questionable that a single passenger was ever approached or consulted with regard to the refurbishmnet/upgrade. It is a nightmare. Up and down, round and round, total chaos, very few staff ever in evidence and the piece de resistance, no on-line check in! Come on, should that not have been the number one priority. Very, very poor. Shame on you Faro airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Very clean and good looking airport. After arrival I could leave the aircraft fast, first stop was the baggage claim. Waiting time was rather long and the signs and directions have been a bit confusing. On the other hand the airport is very modern and very clean. Overall a good airport with some downsides.

✅ Trip Verified | Unbelievably bad, unorganised, chaotic. We arrived at 7pm to check in for a flight at 9.10pm we got through passport control at 8.55 pm - a fiasco. We were left queuing down a flight of stairs, then eventually getting into an even longer queue. Only 2 people on passport control, no help from staff, no explanation, no air conditioning, no water. Everyone was getting very agitated as our boarding time approached and then went, some staff from the boarding gates had to come through to look for passengers so that the flights could leave. Police had to intervene as there were queue skippers and a lot of anxious travelers. It has actually made me reconsider travelling through Faro. On arrival it took 30 minutes to get through passport control also, then we were told our luggage hadn't arrived, but no-one could tell us where it was. We were told to go to lost and found. It was eventually delivered to us 10 minutes later, after we had been told we wouldn't get it. Considering the huge overhaul the airport has had in recent years it is quite unbelievable that the service is this bad. Faro airport, you need to get it sorted and before the summer holidays begin. The service you provide at your airport - not acceptable.

✅ Trip Verified | An absolutely nightmare to go through boarder control. Queues started from leaving security checks, along a corridor with no air con, down the stairs and from there there were so many people you couldn’t even understand which way the queue was going as people just seemed to merge into queues. Towards the two cabins where passports were being checked. Lots of queue jumping and people dropping barriers. But that’s the only way if you want to make it to your flight. Scary if you are with children I imagine. No one informs you about what’s happening and there are no warnings about the long wait in boarder control so allow at least 3 hrs before your flight if it leaves on popular days such as Sunday.

❌ Not Verified | I arrived at Faro yesterday 2 hours before my flight back to Luton. Once through check in and security which was no real problem I encountered what I can only describe as a complete fiasco with a queue for passport control. I spent more than one and a half hours along with several hundred other passengers to clear through to the departure gate.What was clearly apparent was a desire to slow down this simple process.There were only two people with desks open to cope with all passengers and the five electronic scanning gates were closed. My conclusion is that this was a deliberate plot to frustrate all passengers. Fortunately fo me EasyJet and the pilot and crew held back the departure time until all passengers had boarded and I give them great credit for that. Hopefully all other passengers who were in a similar position also made it home on other flights. During our ridiculous hold up several calls for passengers who were stuck in this queue were made ,but at no time was an explanation for this delay. I would be extremely interested to be given a logical reason for why this situation occurred.

✅ Trip Verified | After a poor start with no-one at the 'Special Assistance' desk but advised by their phone to go directly to the Ryanair check-in, things went very smoothly. After a 5 minute wait for a wheelchair I was wheeled by a friendly airport employee to security where they were all friendly and chatty through passport control - again a bright "Bom Dia - have a good trip" and then to a bar which he said serves the best coffee. About 30 minutes before departure I was taken in a brand new lift and helped all the way. Return was equally good until a linguistic problem meant that although I was escorted quickly though Immigration there was no wheelchair for me - but only a minimal problem. Overall an excellent standard of operation.

❎ Not Verified | My third time going thru Faro in a year and this was the worst experience ever. It all just seemed chaotic and hapless. I know the airport has been undergoing upgrades for a few years now, but it's getting worse, not better. Signage is confusing, so for the most part, it's a case of just following the crowd. But the real problems start at security. There's no apparent proper queue system and no air conditioning. The queue is this case started at the top of the escalator. No staff about to help people and reorganise. People were queue jumping as well which is so frustrating to watch, and April isn't even high season. As for the food and beverage area, bring your own. It's a complete rip-off throughout the whole airport. But the worst was yet to come. The Ryanair terminal is a disaster. It's simply not big enough and with very little seating and, once again, no air conditioning. My daughter was disgusted with the toilets. The floor was covered in water and dirty nappies. Unfortunately, there's no other way of getting to the Algarve so be prepared for an very bad experience at Faro.

✅ Trip Verified | What is going on? Seems British, Irish and Canadian passengers are split from the passengers from other parts of the world. Why on earth have they done this, the airport experience was crazy but better before the changes! Shopping is awful, and the food outlets are extortionate, they are also very warm and not well organised! Chaotic. I know there is still work going on but there was very little seating available once through security. Much emphasis put on getting silly shops up and running before passenger comfort. They will need to get a move on, what will it be like in the summer? Why an Irish bar? Airport staff few and overworked so generally poor attitude. Missing the cosmopolitan busy atmosphere that usually comes with travelling but it’s not there at Faro.

❎ Not Verified | Arrived at 20.25 on a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh. Not only did we have a long walk from the plane in rain and wind, we then had to climb a steep flight of metal stairs. The escalator hadn’t been turned on to gain access to the next floor - another steep climb. Either Faro must install an alternative less strenuous route to get from plane to passport control or airlines should be forced to use bridges or buses. Don’t feel that I want to actually want to request wheelchair assistance but many arrivals are spoiled by the lack of an easy way to reach arrivals hall.

❎ Not Verified | Still in the process of renovation. Staff are trying hard and security pass through was effortless thanks to the private agency that has been employed. Shopping dull boring and over priced and staff on the hard sell. Eateries poor and expensive. Toilet clean enough and tap water good for drinking. Staff polite on departure. Bring your sandwiches and empty water bottles for filling at the other side otherwise be prepared to fork out. We were there off season so I can imagine it is busy in the summer and seating would be a problem.