EXCLUSIVE: British passengers had to wait in line for FOUR HOURS, with children passing out, after Portuguese passport workers declared an unplanned strike that left “just two staff… both of whom went to lunch”.

In scenes every tourist dreads when going abroad, hundreds of British tourists are stuck in four-hour queues at a hot and muggy airport in Portugal.

Video shows angry holidaymakers gathered in front of passport barriers at Faro airport after airport staff announced an unplanned strike.

The situation at the airport was so bad that a child passed out while waiting in line to be treated by paramedics.

Sam Jones, 36, from Essex, told MailOnline that he waited in the queue for almost four hours – which saw people looking up the suspended escalators and stairs – after landing at Faro Airport at 10.55am this morning has.

Jones, a plumber, said crowds were increasingly “agitated” after striking passport officers left just two border control officers to deal with the influx of tourists. And Jones said he’s “pretty sure” those two employees “just went to lunch and left us all here.”

It comes as Britain’s passport officials today announced they are going on strike for five weeks, another major blow to holidaymakers. More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union will take part in strike action from April 3 to May 5 in a massive escalation of a long-running dispute over work, wages and working conditions.

Video shows hundreds of disgruntled holidaymakers gathered in front of passport barriers at Faro Airport after airport staff announced an unplanned strike

The situation at the airport is so bad that a child fainted while waiting in line to be treated by paramedics. Pictured: Chaotic scenes at Faro Airport

Jones, who flew to Portugal from Stansted Airport with 12 of his friends for a golf weekend, said once they landed at Faro Airport they encountered huge queues after passport workers declared an unplanned strike.

Horrific footage shows chaos, with crowds of terrified passengers queuing at a standstill. The footage rotates to show hundreds more tourists, with no space between them, queuing at the stairs and an escalator.

“People are screaming and getting excited and it’s very hot,” Jones said, adding that he was told he could stay there for up to four hours and that he was separated from most of his friends.

“Only two people opened and we’re pretty sure they just went out for lunch and left us all here.”

He added: “At this rate I don’t think I’ll make it to the golf course before I fly home on Monday. I can’t see us going anywhere anytime soon.”

Sam Jones, 36, from Essex (pictured right with his boyfriend), told MailOnline he was stuck in the queue for almost four hours – with people standing in front of the suspended escalators and stairs – after he arrived at 10:55 arrived at Faro airport.

In scenes every tourist dreads when going abroad, dozens of British tourists are stuck in four-hour queues at a hot and muggy airport in Portugal.

Horrific footage shows chaos, with crowds of terrified passengers queuing at a standstill

Footage rotates to show hundreds more tourists without a gap queuing for the stairs and an escalator

Horrific footage shows chaos, with crowds of terrified passengers queuing

Jones said staff began handing out water to passengers who had been standing for hours in the sweltering airport, adding that paramedics were treating a child who had passed out from the heat.

Last year there were chaotic scenes at passport control at Lisbon airport, with tourists queuing for hours.

Portuguese authorities blamed the chaos on the “exponential” increase in arrivals at the country’s airports and staff shortages as travel increased in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.