Portuguese airports see 33 million passengers in 2024

Never before have so many people arrived at Portuguese airports as this year: almost 33 million passengers. Data from the National Institute of Statistics shows that in the first half of this year there was an increase of 5.2% in the number of passengers when compared to the same period last year.

More than half of the landings took place at Lisbon airport. The United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination of flights, followed by France and Spain.

In the case of goods transported by plane, the increase was even more significant: in 12 months it grew by 13.2%.

The number of passengers handled at national airports hit highs in all months of 2024, surpassing the numbers recorded in the same months of 2023.

In the first half of the year, the United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination of flights, having recorded growth in the number of passengers disembarked (2.5%) and embarked (2.9%) compared to the same period in 2023, according to INE’s preliminary transport statistics for the end of June. On the other hand, France recorded decreases in the number of passengers disembarked (1.9%) and embarked (2.1%) and occupied 2nd position.

Spain, Germany and Italy occupied the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions, respectively, as the main countries of origin and destination.

Lisbon airport handled more than half of the passengers who passed through national airports. It received 16.7 million passengers — 50.8% of the total — and registered a growth of 5.3% compared to the same period in 2023.

Porto airport concentrated 22.8% of the total passengers handled (7.5 million), 5.8% more than in the first six months of 2023. Faro airport recorded a growth of 3.3% in passenger movement, totalling 4.3 million.

In monthly terms, 6.7 million passengers and 20,000 tonnes of cargo and mail were handled at national airports in June, which corresponds to a growth of 5.6% and 13.4%, respectively, compared to June 2023.

On average, about 113,000 passengers passed through national airports in June. This was an increase of 5.5% compared to June 2023, when 107.0 thousand passengers were handled.