Portugal Airport and Flight Statistics

Published 9 Sept 2026

Portugal operates 10 key commercial airports nationwide, processing millions of passengers and flights annually. This comprehensive network connects cities across the country and serves as a crucial hub for international travel between Europe, Brazil, North America, and other global destinations.

How many flights operate in Portuguese airports each year?

Over 400,000 flights operate through Portuguese airports each year.

Portuguese airports handled 480,914 operations in 2025, a 3.4% increase from the previous year.
Before the pandemic, the airports handled approximately 428,684 operations in 2019.
Flight operations declined to 182,268 in 2020 and 239,671 in 2021 due to COVID-19, then gradually recovered to 407,528 operations in 2022 and 456,702 operations in 2023.
Portuguese airports reached approximately 464,992 operations in 2024, representing steady growth from the previous year.

Vertical bar chart of annual aircraft operations at Portuguese airports for each year from 2017 to 2025. — Annual aircraft operations (movements) at Portuguese airports, 2017-2025.

How many airports are there in Portugal?

Portugal maintained 10 key commercial airports in 2025, managed by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal under the VINCI Airports concession.
The network includes 3 major international airports on the mainland (Lisbon, Porto, and Faro) and vital international airports on the islands, including Madeira and Azores facilities.
While the country has additional airfields and smaller aerodromes, this core group of 10 handles all significant commercial passenger and cargo traffic.

How many passengers use Portuguese airports each year?

Over 70 million passengers were processed through Portuguese airports in 2025.

Portuguese airports handled 72.5 million passengers in 2025, a 4.8% increase from the previous year.
Before the pandemic, Portuguese airports processed approximately 59.1 million passengers in 2019.
Annual processing dropped to a pandemic low of 18 million passengers in 2020, then recovered to 24.9 million in 2021, 55.7 million in 2022, and reached 66.3 million in 2023.
In 2024, Portuguese airports processed approximately 69.2 million passengers, up 4.4% from 2023.

Vertical bar chart of annual passenger volume at Portuguese airports for each year from 2017 to 2025. — Annual passenger volume at Portuguese airports, 2017-2025.

How much revenue do Portuguese airports and flights generate each year?

Portuguese airports generated over €1 billion in revenue in the last two years.

ANA Aeroportos de Portugal reported total revenues of €871.2 million in 2019, which dropped to €318.6 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Recovery progressed steadily from €401.4 million in 2021 to €859 million in 2022, reaching €1.06 billion in 2023.
In 2024, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal generated €1.25 billion in total operating income, up 18.1% from 2023 and a 43.6% increase from the pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Vertical bar chart of annual revenue generated by Portuguese airports (ANA S.A.) for each year from 2017 to 2024. — Annual airport revenue in Portugal (ANA S.A.), 2017-2024.

Which are the busiest airports in Portugal?

Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) is Portugal's busiest airport handling around 50% of total air passengers in Portugal.

The top 3 busiest Portuguese airports handled 63.47 million passengers combined in 2025, representing approximately 88% of total Portuguese airport traffic.
Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) alone handled 36.13 million passengers in 2025.
Porto Francisco Sá Carneiro (OPO) and Faro Algarve (FAO) followed with 16.94 million and 10.40 million passengers respectively.

Horizontal bar chart ranking Portugal's five busiest airports by passenger volume in 2025. — Portugal's busiest airports by passengers, 2025.

Which airline offered the most seat capacity in Portugal?

TAP Air Portugal offers the most seat capacity in Portugal.

TAP Air Portugal offered the most seat capacity in Portugal’s airline market in 2025 with 20.5 million seats.
Ryanair offered 14.9 million seats, followed by easyJet with 10.7 million and Transavia France at 2.1 million.
Azores Airlines had 2.0 million seats available.
Other airlines accounted for less than 2 million seats.

Horizontal bar chart ranking top airlines by total available seat capacity in Portugal in 2025. — Top airlines by seat capacity in Portugal, 2025.

Why do people fly in Portugal?

Approximately 50.9% of people flew for leisure, recreation, or vacations in Portugal in 2024, making it the largest category of air travel.
Visiting Friends & Relatives accounted for 37.7% of passengers, representing the second-largest travel purpose and highlighting Portugal's large diaspora connections.
Business Travel comprises the remaining percentage of passengers, primarily for corporate meetings and trade.

Pie chart showing the primary purpose of air travel in Portugal in 2024, split among leisure, visiting friends and relatives, and business. — Primary purpose of air travel in Portugal, 2024.

What are the peak travel seasons for Portuguese airports?

Portuguese airports experienced peak travel in the 3rd quarter in 2025.

Q3 recorded the highest passenger traffic at 22.06 million.
This was followed by Q2 with 20.18 million passengers.
Q4 had 16.48 million passengers, while Q1 had the lowest passenger traffic at 13.75 million.

Vertical bar chart of quarterly passenger traffic at Portuguese airports across the four quarters of 2025. — Quarterly passenger traffic at Portuguese airports, 2025.

How much cargo moves through Portuguese airports each year?

Portuguese airports handle over 200,000 tonnes of freight each year.

Portuguese airports handled 194,681 tonnes in 2019.
Due to the pandemic, the figure dropped to 139,526 tonnes in 2020 before recovering to 180,651 tonnes in 2021
Cargo volume surpassed the pre-pandemic level, reaching 210,408 tonnes in 2022 and 210,478 tonnes in 2023.
In 2024, airports processed 242,958 tonnes of cargo, up 15.4% from 2023, highlighting Portugal's strengthening position in global supply chains.

Vertical bar chart of annual air cargo volume at Portuguese airports for each year from 2017 to 2024. — Annual air cargo volume at Portuguese airports, 2017-2024.

What are the busiest flight routes in Portuguese airports?

Lisbon-Madrid Barajas was the leading scheduled route from Portuguese airports in multiple 2025 quarters by aircraft movements.
Lisbon-Barcelona and Lisbon-Paris Orly were also among the most frequently operated international routes during the year.
Lisbon-Funchal remained one of the strongest domestic routes, reflecting the importance of air links between mainland Portugal and Madeira.

Busiest Routes from Portuguese Airports in Different Quarters of 2025
1st Quarter		2nd Quarter		3rd Quarter		4th Quarter
Routes	Share of total movements	Routes	Share of total movements	Routes	Share of total movements	Routes	Share of total movements
Lisbon–Madrid Barajas	3.8%	Lisbon–Madrid Barajas	2.8%	Lisbon–Madrid Barajas	2.6%	Lisbon–Madrid Barajas	3.3%
Lisbon–Barcelona	2.5%	Lisbon–Paris Orly	2.2%	Lisbon–Paris Orly	2.0%	Lisbon–Barcelona	2.2%
Lisbon–Paris Orly	2.5%	Lisbon–Barcelona	2.0%	Lisbon–Barcelona	1.8%	Lisbon–Paris Orly	2.2%
Funchal–Lisbon	2.5%	Funchal–Lisbon	1.9%	Funchal–Lisbon	1.8%	Funchal–Lisbon	2.1%
Lisbon–London Heathrow	2.1%	Porto–Paris Orly	1.7%	Porto–Paris Orly	1.7%	Porto–Paris Orly	1.9%

Related Travel Statistics

Financial Statistics of Aviation in Portugal (2024)Net Profit: €510.6 million
EBITDA: €866.9 million
Capital Employed: €1.5 billion
Total Assets:  €2.6 billion
Operating Cash Flow: €643.6 million
Number of Staff: 1,152
Staff Cost: €84.4 million

References

Portuguese Airport Annual Passenger, Flight, Cargo and Financial Data · ana.pt
2025 VINCI Airports Traffic Data · vinci.com
Market Share of Airlines at Portuguese Airports by Seat Capacity · cdn.airserviceone.com
Busiest Routes from Portuguese Airports · anac.pt
Purpose of Portugal Air Travel · travelbi.turismodeportugal.pt