Airport traffic news in Portugal
Latest news and stories about airport traffic in Portugal for expats and residents.
Latest news and stories about airport traffic in Portugal for expats and residents.
National airports handled a new historical high of 4.5 million passengers in February, an increase of 3.3% year-on-year, accumulating a 3.7% rise since the beginning of the year to 8.876 million, according to data released today by the INE.
Lisbon Airport accounted for 55.6% of the total number of passengers in the first two months of the year.
Although tourism growth has slowed since the start of the year, national airports continue to reach historic monthly passenger highs. In the first two months of 2026, 8.9 million passengers passed through the country's airports, a 3.7% increase compared to the same period last year, according to data released Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Portela airport handled over half of the country's passenger traffic (55.6%), while Porto airport saw the highest growth at 7.7%. Funchal overtook Faro as the third busiest airport, while Faro experienced a 1.9% decline. Spain remains the top country of origin for flights, and the UK is the primary destination.
Lisbon airport handled 56.6% of the total number of passengers (2.5 million), a year-on-year increase of 3.4%, while Porto airport handled 23.6% of the total (1 million), seeing a rise of 9.6%.
Gago Coutinho Airport, in Faro, saw a year-on-year decrease of 2.5%, handling 302,100 passengers, equivalent to 6.8% of the total.
All islands in the archipelago saw a decrease in arrivals compared to February 2025, with the most significant drops occurring on the islands of Graciosa (-18.6%), Terceira (-10.4%), and São Jorge (-8.9%).
Data indicate a 12.1% increase in the number of passengers in the archipelago compared with 2024.
At Madeira Airport, international traffic predominated over domestic. In contrast, at Porto Santo, 83.7% of all flights were domestic.
Portugal’s airports saw a record 72.5 million passengers pass through them in 2025 (+4.7%), while Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport processed 36.1 million passengers, up 2.9% on 2024. According to data The post Portugal’s airports saw 72.5 million passengers in 2025, up 4.7% appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Around five million passengers passed through national airports in November, representing a 5.0 per cent increase compared with November 2024.
Lisbon Airport accounts for almost half of the total passengers.
London's Heathrow Airport, the busiest in Europe in 2024, broke its passenger record in 2025 with more than 84 million passengers, according to a statement released today.
The Azores recorded their highest-ever number of passengers disembarking at regional airports for the fourth year running, reflecting continued growth in visitor numbers across the islands.
In 2024 the region recorded 2,315,096 passengers disembarked by air, and in 2025 that number rose to 2,374,585 passengers.
Home News Record numbers for Algarve airport Record numbers for Algarve airport Gago Coutinho International Airport in Faro, Algarve, will reach a record 10 million passengers in 2025, the highest in its history, representing a 6% increase compared to 2024.
