We are set to depart Lisbon on Sunday the 29th of May at 10:45. The strike is scheduled to be held that day from 5 am to 10 am. We had planned to arrive at the airport by 8am but now I am thinking maybe we should go earlier. Any advice for a smooth departure.
Thank you!
It depends on where your destination is. If you’re flying to another Schengen country, your departure plan from Lisbon should be fine. However, if you’re not flying to another Schengen country, like directly back to the States, you need to plan for more time. That is our situation, Lisbon to Boston, so we’ll have to go through passport/border control at the Lisbon airport on one of the announced strike days. We plan to get to the airport 4-5 hours ahead of our flight to allow for delays.
Border staff in Portugal are scheduled to strike for several days in May and June, which is likely to cause long delays at airports.
If your flight is to a non Schengen destination, I would think "you cannot be there too soon" applies.
As the passport control- border crossing processing is what takes time, having those folks on strike will make the process even more time consuming. Hopefully the flight crew will be stuck in the line with you and you make the flight, even if it is late.
Good luck
