Brits ‘stranded’ as holiday airport CLOSED with passengers ‘crammed in’ after airlines ‘didn’t tell them about strikes’

BRITISH travellers in a major European airport are in meltdown as they learn of strike action and cancellations just hours before their flight.

Passengers on Jet2 and Ryanair arrived at Faro airport this morning only to be met with a departure board resembling a Christmas tree.

Travellers are furious about last-minute cancellationsCredit: Getty

Many of them claim that they were not told about the disruptions beforehandCredit: Shutterstock

To make matters worse, the majority of travellers were reportedly not told about strike action before they set off this morning.

One passenger told The Sun: “We are being put in a hotel for the night. All flights are cancelled.

“It’s terrible – there are hundreds of people with nowhere to sit.”

Another wrote on Facebook: “Ryanair telling people to get to the airport 3hours before flight during general strike in Portugal and Security won’t let you through.

“They’re the only airline that never told their customers the flights was going to be cancelled.”

A nationwide transport strike is set to take place on 11 December across Portugal.

It is thought that approximately half of the country’s workforce could be involved.

Travellers travelling to and from popular locations – including Lisbon, Porto, the Azores and Madeira – are all thought to be affected.

Various transport methods across the country in south-west Europe are expected to be hit.

This includes and is not limited to planes, trains, buses and metro lines.

Portuguese airline TAP Air said that it has cancelled flights due to strike action.

However, it has said that it will be running a minimum service.

In a statement, the company said: “Due to the General Strike in Portugal, and to avoid constraints on our Customers’ journeys, TAP is cancelling flights on December 11th. 

“Thus, Customers are being contacted with an alternative, in case their flight is cancelled.”

It went on to say that passengers would be able to postpone their cancelled journey “from that day to the three days before or after” free of charge.

Meanwhile, SNPVAC cabin crew union president Ricardo Penarroias said it would be “very difficult to operate flights” while strike action was ongoing.

As many as 5,000 TAP workers are represented by SNPVAC.

The union also represents other well-known airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and Azores Airlines.

This festive misery comes after thousands of Brits were affected earlier strike action this December when cabin crews voted in favour of strike action.

Over 100 staff working for SAS chose industrial action by 93 per cent in a ballot.

The strike affects flights to Scandinavia – including connecting services to Santa’s wintry Lapland home.

Union Unite cited the lack of a decent pay offer from SAS – saying 3.5 per cent is a real-terms cut, given inflation has been running higher.

Unite’s Sharon Graham said: “SAS publicly praise cabin crew, yet in private they are cynically trying to short-change them.

“This is simply unacceptable when the airline depends on their expertise and passengers rely on them for safety.

“They will have the full support of their union in this dispute.”

The Sun has approached Jet2 and Ryanair for comment.

The strike action is affecting multiple different industries, causing maximum delaysCredit: Splash

It is thought that about half the country’s travel workforce are involvedCredit: Shutterstock