A popular European airport, among the busiest for British passengers, is encouraging travellers to "arrive early" in a fresh alert. This follows the airport's warning that "possible constraints" may result in extended queues and waiting periods.

Faro Airport, situated in Portugal, functions as the primary gateway to the Algarve holiday destination. It has previously featured amongst the leading airports for British arrivals, with millions travelling through annually. It stands as one of the most frequented European airports for UK visitors, alongside Alicante and Tenerife South, reports the Mirror.

As of April 16, a notice on the official Faro Airport website states: "Due to possible constraints on departures border control, longer waiting times are to be expected. Passengers to international (Non Schengen) flights please arrive early at the Airport."

In a separate message on Facebook, the airport also announced: "Due to possible border control constraints, we recommend that passengers on international flights (extra EU) arrive at the airport in greater advance. Plan your trip well and avoid unforeseen things."

It continues: "Due to possible constraints at departure border control, we recommend that passengers on international flights (extra EU) arrive at the airport earlier than usual."

The European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES) launched on April 10 and has led to long queues at passport control across Europe. The new system replaces manual passport stamping and instead uses biometric and facial recognition checks.

The system monitors how long visitors remain to guarantee they don't surpass the 90-day threshold within 180 days. Once passengers submit their biometric details, those details remain valid for three years.

Since the system became operational, it has caused significant disruption. Travellers have described queuing for two to three hours at major airports, while some airlines have experienced chaos, with passengers missing their flights due to delays in processing initial biometric registrations, which can take up to four minutes per person.

Last weekend, Faro Airport allegedly temporarily suspended EES registration due to excessive wait times for passengers. According to the Financial Times, the Airports Council International stated that numerous busy airports across the continent have experienced waiting times of up to three hours at border controls.

Earlier this month, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary characterised the new EES as a "shambles". Speaking to The Times, he said: "We are calling for the postponement [of EES]. It would make much more sense to do this in October, coming into the winter schedule."

• Austria


• Belgium


• Bulgaria


• Croatia


• Czechia


• Denmark


• Estonia


• Finland


• France


• Germany


• Greece


• Hungary


• Iceland


• Italy


• Latvia


• Liechtenstein


• Lithuania


• Luxembourg


• Malta


• Netherlands


• Norway


• Poland


• Portugal


• Romania


• Slovakia


• Slovenia


• Spain


• Sweden


• Switzerland

The Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are not within the Schengen area. The EES is not applicable when travelling to either of these countries.

Some UK nationals are exempt from EES. The full list of exemptions is on the EU's official Travel Europe website.