Portugal's airports set January-August passenger record, INE says

INE said passenger traffic set monthly records in seven of the first eight months of 2026, with June the only exception. Landings on commercial flights reached 26,700 in August, up 1.4% year on year and slightly above the 1.3% growth recorded in July. Average daily arrivals were 124,900 in August, 2.1% above the same month last year.

Porto leads growth, Lisbon keeps scale

Overall traffic between January and August increased 2.4% year on year, slower than the 4.7% recorded across 2025 and below the 3.9% growth INE reported for the first quarter. Porto Airport handled 12.1 million passengers, up 7.1% and the fastest growth of the three main gateways. Lisbon handled 24.3 million, 47.7% of the national total, with traffic up 0.8%. Faro handled 7.6 million, 14.8% of the total and 4% more than a year earlier.

International travel dominates August

In August, 81.4% of passengers arriving at Portuguese airports were on international flights, about 3.2 million people and a 3.1% increase year on year. Europe supplied 66.4% of arrivals, up 3%, and the Americas ranked second with 9.8% of arrivals and growth of 3.1%.

Departures followed the same pattern. International flights carried 82.3% of the 4.0 million departing passengers, about 3.3 million people and a 3% increase. Europe was the main destination with 68.1% of departing passengers, up 3%, and the Americas ranked second at 9.6% with growth of 2.2%.

The United Kingdom remained the leading international source and destination market between January and August, with arrivals up 5.2% and departures to the UK up 5.5%, INE said. Spain overtook France as the second-largest international market over the same period.

2025 record sets high base

Portugal's airports handled a record 72.5 million passengers in 2025, up 4.7%, according to VINCI Group data for airports operated by ANA. Lisbon processed 36.1 million, a 2.9% increase on 2024, while Porto had 16.9 million, up 6.3%, and Faro 10.4 million, up 5.8%. Madeira grew fastest at 12%, passing 5.6 million passengers, and the Azores rose 2.7% to 3.3 million. The operator highlighted long-haul growth to Asia and Latin America at Lisbon in 2025.

VINCI Airports said Portugal kept growing in the first half of 2026 despite a nationwide general strike on 3 June that hit traffic.