UK passengers queued in FOUR HOURS after Portuguese passport workers declare strike

In scenes every tourist dreads when they go abroad, hundreds of British tourists are stuck in four-hour long queues at a hot and stuffy airport in Portugal.

Video shows disgruntled holidaymakers huddled in front of passport barriers at Faro Airport after airport staff announced an unplanned strike.

The situation at the airport was so dire that a child passed out while waiting in line to be treated by paramedics.

Sam Jones, 36, from Essex, told MailOnline he was stuck in line – which saw people up to the suspended escalators and stairs – for almost four hours after landing at Faro airport at 10.55am this morning.

Jones, a plumber, said the crowd became increasingly “agitated” after the striking passport workers left just two border control officers to deal with the influx of tourists. And Jones said he was “pretty sure” those two members of staff “just went to lunch and left us all here.”

It comes as UK passport office staff today revealed they will be on strike for five weeks, another major blow to holidaymakers. More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union will participate in the walkout from April 3 to May 5 in a massive escalation of a long-running dispute over jobs, wages and working conditions.

Video shows hundreds of disgruntled holidaymakers huddled in front of passport barriers at Faro airport after airport staff announced an unplanned strike

The situation at the airport is so dire that a child fainted while waiting in line to be treated by paramedics. Pictured: chaotic scenes at Faro airport

Jones, who flew from Stansted airport to Portugal with 12 of his friends for a weekend of golf, said that as soon as they landed at Faro airport, they encountered huge queues after passport workers declared an unplanned strike.

Horrifying footage shows chaos, with a crowd of appalled passengers standing in a stationary line. The footage rotates to show hundreds more tourists, with no space between them, queuing at the stairs and an escalator.

“People are screaming and getting agitated and it’s very hot,” Jones said, adding that he was told he could stay there for up to four hours and that he was separated from most of his friends.

“Only two people are open and we’re pretty sure they just went for lunch and left us all here.”

He added: ‘At this rate I don’t think I’ll make it to the golf course before I fly home on Monday. I can’t imagine we’re going anywhere anytime soon.’

Sam Jones, 36, from Essex, (pictured right with his friend) tells MailOnline he was stuck in the queue – which saw people standing in front of the suspended escalators and stairs – for almost four hours – after arriving at 10.55 hours at Faro airport this morning

In scenes every tourist dreads when they go abroad, dozens of British tourists are stuck in four-hour queues at a hot and stuffy airport in Portugal

Horrifying footage shows chaos, with a crowd of appalled passengers standing in a stationary line

The footage rotates to show hundreds more tourists, with no space between them, queuing for the stairs and an escalator

Horrifying footage shows chaos, with a crowd of appalled passengers standing in a stationary line

Jones said staff began handing out water to passengers who had been standing for hours at the sweltering airport, adding that paramedics treated a child who had passed out from the heat.

Last year there were chaotic scenes at passport control at Lisbon airport, with tourists queuing for hours.

Portuguese authorities blamed the chaos on the “exponential” increase in arrivals at airports in the country, as well as staff shortages as travel boomed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.