Portuguese airports hit all-time record
The number of passengers passing through national airports grew 5.2% in the first six months of 2024.
The number of passengers passing through Portuguese airports rose by 5.2% in the first half of 2024 to 32.9 million, an all-time record according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to air transport statistics, Lisbon airport handled 50.8% of all passengers, corresponding to 16.7 million and an increase of 5.3% compared to the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, Porto airport accounted for 22.8% of all passengers handled (7.5 million; +5.8%), while Faro airport saw a 3.3% increase in passenger movements, totalling 4.3 million.
The INE also states that, in the first six months of the year, the United Kingdom was “the main country of origin and destination for flights, having recorded growth in the number of passengers disembarking (+2.5%) and embarking (+2.9%) compared to the same period in 2023”.
In contrast, France recorded decreases in the number of passengers disembarking (-1.9%) and embarking (-2.1%), occupying 2nd place, while Spain, Germany and Italy occupied 3rd, 4th and 5th places, respectively, as the main countries of origin and destination.
The daily movement of aircrafts and passengers is typically influenced by seasonal and weekly cycle fluctuations. The highest daily values are generally recorded during the summer period and, last year, Saturday was the day of the week with the highest number of disembarked passengers.
During the first half of 2024 there were historic monthly highs of passengers at national airports. In June 2024, there was a daily average of nearly 113 thousand passengers disembarked, 5.5% higher than the one registered in June 2023 (107.0 thousand).
In the first half of 2024, there was also an increase of 13.2% in freight and mail handled at national airports (-0.8% in 2023). The movement of freight and mail at Lisboa airport represented 77.1% of the total, corresponding to 94.2 thousand tonnes (+16.6% compared with the same period of 2023).