Faro registered the largest year-on-year increase in mainland Portugal
Portugal’s airports are buzzing, with new figures showing a steady rise in passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2025.
According to Vinci, the French company that owns ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, a total of 13.7 million travellers passed through the country’s airports from January to March – a 2.4% increase compared to the same period last year.
Unsurprisingly, Lisbon remains the nation’s busiest hub, welcoming 7.6 million passengers, up 1.4% year-on-year. But the real stars of the show were Madeira and Faro, which saw the biggest boosts.
The archipelago of Madeira saw a 6.7% spike, reaching 1.1 million passengers. Meanwhile, Faro, the gateway to the Algarve, recorded a 4.0% rise, the highest in mainland Portugal, with 1.2 million people flying in and out.
Porto also welcomed more passengers than last year – 3.2 million, a 2.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The Azores archipelago followed the trend, with airport traffic up 3.4%, totalling around 532,000 passengers.
