There is a potential travel disaster brewing in Portugal, where border staff are scheduled to be on strike for several days in May and June 2023.
The border staff will be on strike during the busy morning hours between 5 AM – 10 AM on May 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29, and the following dates in June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26.
These strikes are set to affect all main airports in Portugal and will significantly delay passenger processing at the border for those entering and exiting the Schengen area.
Excerpt from the Portugal Resident:
SIIFF delivered two pre-strike notices today that will take place in May and June, one for Lisbon airport and the other for Faro, Porto and Madeira airports, as well as for remaining border posts.
According to these ‘pre-announcements’, delivered on the day the interior ministry announced plans to reinforce the operational capacity of Portuguese airports during the summer period due to the increase in passengers, the stoppage at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado airport will take place between 5:00am and 10:00am from May 20-22, May 27-29, June 3-5, June 10-12, June 17-19 and June 24-26. (These hours coincide with the majority of international flight arrivals. Early morning strikes in the past have resulted in complete chaos in the already struggling terminal.)
At remaining airports and border crossings, namely maritime, strikes will take place on May 22 and 29 and June 5, 12, 19 and 26.
Conclusion
I was trying to locate the most recent information about this possible strike set to begin this coming Saturday, but I couldn’t find any.
These strikes are often called off at the last minute in Europe, but the same group has already previously had strike action, so this taking place is not inconceivable.
TAP has not released any information about the possible strike, but last time they only announced curtailed flight schedule the day before. You should monitor your TAP and other flights set to take off or land in Portugal on strike days.
There are likely disruptions outside of these strike hours when there are many unprocessed passengers at the border.