Faro Airport

We use Faro airport very often. Checking in with bags is relatively acceptable although long queues. However after you have join the queue to pass through security. There the misery begins. There you see officials hanging around not working effectively when they could have opened more security gates. Every time we use Faro airport this is the part of the travel that really is the nasty aspect.

We have been using Faro airport for the last 20years. On arrival to pick up a pre booked hire car it was just a short walk through the doors to the right. When we arrived at the end of September 2012 there is now a ridiculous long walk down a tunnel to get to exactly the same place. This is made worse as some of the way is uphill. Not easy with cases those with mobility problems with children or elderly. We are hoping this is just temporary as it is an absolutely stupid thoughtless idea. I have said I would recommend this airport apart from the problem above which will make us think twice about returning.

Just arrived back from Faro airport this afternoon and I have to agree with the last review that this is the worst airport I have travelled through with a young family. We arrived 2.5 hours before our flight time and spent the next 2 hours queuing to get through to the departure gate. Checking our bags onto the flight was relatively quick and straightforward however once through this stage we had to join the queue to pass through security. We had to go back through the bag check in desk and join the end of the queue which by now stretched to the far end of the airport. Did not appear to be any rational process or system in place to try and move travellers efficiently through this aspect of your journey. This was causing distress to many who feared they would miss their flight. We eventually made it through this stage to the duty free area only to discover that any chance of visiting the shops was not an option as the you had to join another lengthy queue stretching the full span of the terminal to get through passport control and onto your departure gate. Not acceptable and quite frankly shambolic. Our holiday in Portugal was very good however this was a frustrating exasperating and disappointing end to the holiday and not a pleasant experience for anyone unfortunate enough to be passing through Faro today. Not sure if this is the norm and I would be shocked if this is how the authorities at Faro airport and the people in charge of tourism in Portugal wish to portray their airport.

I travelled through Faro airport with my wife and two young children. I have to say that it was one of the most inefficient airport that I have ever used for delays in getting through security. We waited in queue in the heat for 45 minutes. I can't imagine any variable reason for directing all travelling families with young kids and push chairs into one queue while all other 7 gates are free to use by everyone else many of which were completely free during our wait. This was a truly horrible and disappointing end to a lovely family holiday in Portugal.

Outrageous prices for drinks and food. The bar upstairs tried to charge me 12.5 Euro for a beer and a coke! When I said no way she lowered the price to 7.50 and said she had made a mistake! Really? Even at 7.5 Euro it was still outrageous. Duty free was poor too. The security and passport control with every booth at the automated booths working was fine. Staff in security were courteous too.

The food prices in this airport are outrageous. 12 Euro for a very poor burger meal is not acceptable - I tried to complain at the airport but no good - there is obviously no regulation of the commercial establishments operating here.

Faro airport is the gateway for a huge and lovely tourist destination the Algarve. I would like to share one thing with anyone using this airport. Do not use the ground floor catering establishments if you are on a budget. There is a lovely clean spacious canteen up on the first floor above the arrivals area. Unfortunately nothing similar in the departures area ! Go to the extreme end of the building (turn left on entering) and up the escalators or use the lift or stairs. The prices are reasonable for drinks and snacks. There are two areas you get a good view of the arrivals area from the open balcony bar area and of the baggage area from the rear canteen (when this is open). If you cannot find your tour rep when you arrive they are probably up there ! As regular users of this airport we have seen it at all times of the year and the summer season brings the usual pressures on all facilities from the sheer numbers of people that have to be processed. The toilets are clean the parking close by and a very reasonable cost and the local staff usually extremely helpful. It is one of the few airports I know that has functioning electronic passport readers but this has meant that the queues for the conventional desks can be excessively long and tiresome.

Nice airport prices not too much of a rip off. Check in desks an absolute nightmare. The straff seem to take a sadistic delight in slowing things down so much that enormous queues develop. We only just made it to the plane in time and had no time at all to look at the duty free area. We were warned that they were slow but were unprepared for the levels of deliberate obstructive incompetence. I had always thought that Manchester was bad but it is a model of efficiency now compared to Faro.

For those of you with children make sure you bring a packed lunch with you for them otherwise it could be a seriously expensive end to your holiday. 12 euros for a small burger meal is as close to extortion as I've ever seen! Other drinks and sandwiches are also seriously expensive and there's hardly any choice. What shops there are (no more than 4) are ok but there really is very little here. The airport itself is clean and tidy but that's not much help if you're stuck there for hours.

A nice little airport the check in and security was very quick and easy. However there is not enough option for shopping and the cafes and bars are extremely expensive. I had to pay 2.60 euros for a 330ml can of coke while a sandwich was even more! Good amount of seating by the gates is another plus while the views onto the airfield are wonderful.