Panicked Brits crowd into Faro airport to get back to UK before needing to quarantine – World News

Huge crowds of Brits are squeezing into a Portuguese airport as the race to get home before Tuesday continues.

Faro Airport has turned into a mini-slice of British society over the past three days, following a UK government announcement that Portugal would soon be reclassified as amber.

The move means returning travellers will have to pay for expensive tests and quarantine for 10 days, if they get home after 4am on Tuesday.

The rush to get onto a plane before then has seen prices for flights rocket.

There are an estimated 112,000 Britons currently in Portugal and airlines have been laying on extra flights or larger aircraft to get people home.

Are you at Faro Airport or another airport in Portugal? Have you got a story to share? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

Yesterday around 100 flights were expected to depart Faro alone, leading to mega queues inside and outside the airport.

The sudden reclassification has also led to a run on testing in Portugal.

Photos from tourist hotspots show queues snaking down streets as people try desperately to show they’re negative, or else face being barred from flights.

One Brit at Faro Airport likened the queues to those seen at Thorpe Park during peak season, while another revealed passengers were stressed and confused.

Mr Cohen, 21, from Brighton, told The Mirror: “There’s definitely a few hundred people queuing. As soon as I saw the queue it was like ‘oh my God’… I was gobsmacked.

“It’s like queuing for Thorpe Park over the summer holiday or half-term and you are waiting two hours to get on a ride.

“As soon as I saw the queue I knew immediately that a large percentage of these passengers had to book emergency flights back or had changed their flights.

“You can see the urgency of everyone to get back before the quarantine comes into force.”

Mr Cohen joined the baggage line at around 6pm and was only half-way through the queue an hour later.

The customer delivery driver added that he also faced another boarding queue before his flight back to Gatwick at 8.10pm.

Holidaymaker Mark Ainsworth said he saw around 100 people queuing for Covid tests when he arrived at Faro Airport yesterday.

Holidaymaker Mark Ainsworth, 44, from Solihull, told The Mirror that he saw around 100 people queuing for Covid tests when he arrived at Faro Airport yesterday.

He added: “We saw several passengers being turned away for the wrong paperwork and they were clearly quite stressed.

“There does seem to be real confusion among passengers though about whether they need lateral flow tests or PCR in particular.

“It’s definitely more tense than usual because you know if you have the wrong papers, you will miss your flight and by the time you get another, it will mean amber and isolation.

“Of course, there is still the possibility that someone on your plane tests positive in which case that means 10 day isolation or, even worse, Covid.

“That said, we knew we were taking a risk when we booked so we’re not complaining.”