Faro Airport

For the airport in Yukon, Canada, see Faro Airport (Yukon).

Not to be confused with Paro Airport.

Faro Airport Aeroporto Internacional de Faro
IATA: FAO ICAO: LPFR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Vinci SA
Operator	ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Serves	Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Focus city for	easyJet [1] Ryanair
Elevation  AMSL	7 m / 24 ft
Coordinates	37°00′52″N007°57′57″W / 37.01444°N 7.96583°W / 37.01444; -7.96583
Website	ana.pt
Map
LPFR Location within Portugal
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,490 8,169 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers 9,830,000 Passengers change 23-24 2.0% Aircraft movements 63,530 Movements change 23-24 1.3%
Sources: ANAC, [2] Vinci, [3] ANA, [4] [5] WAD [6]

Faro International Airport (Portuguese : Aeroporto de Faro, IATA : FAO, ICAO : LPFR), officially Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport (Aeroporto Internacional de Faro - Gago Coutinho), is located four kilometres (two nautical miles) west ^[7] of the city of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 ^[8] being the main gateway to Faro District (the year-round resort region of the Algarve) and southwestern Spain, with nearly 10 million passengers using the facility in 2024. Since 2022, it is named after Gago Coutinho, Portuguese geographer, cartographer, naval officer, historian and aviation pioneer.

History

Arrivals area

Terminal building

Terminal building

Faro International Airport is located 4 km from Faro, the capital city of Algarve in Portugal. Situated in the southern coast of Portugal, the airport was constructed during the 1960s and inaugurated in 1965. The Portuguese Government is the owner of Faro airport, although, in the 2010s, the administration was granted to Vinci Group, company winning the privatization of the Portuguese airports operator - ANA Aeroportos de Portugal - which has been its operator. Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada, Santa Maria, Horta, Flores, Madeira, and Porto Santo, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation were conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98. With this concession, ANA became responsible for the planning, development and construction of future infrastructure. ^[9]

Since its opening in 1966 to the 2000s, Faro airport has had two major developments: the new passenger terminal building in 1989, and its enlargement in 2001. Faced with growing traffic demand and passenger safety and satisfaction needs, the development plan for 2009–2013 saw Faro airport undergo extensive improvements to runway and infrastructure, as well as a widespread renovation of the airport terminal and commercial areas. ^[10] The airport authority announced an expansion programme for Faro airport in February 2010. Phase I of the expansion started in 2010 and was completed by 2011. Phase II began in 2011 and was completed by 2013. Faro International Airport handled 5,447,200 passengers and recorded 39,789 aircraft movements in 2008. When the Phase II expansion was completed, the annual capacity of the airport increased from six million to eight million passengers. Passengers handled per hour increased to 3,000, the number of aircraft handled per hour increased to 30, and aircraft parking bays increased from 22 to 33. Additional shops and waiting areas were constructed as part of the expansion. In Phase I, new aircraft stands and taxiways were planned to be constructed. A new instrument landing system (ILS) was installed at the runway along with the installation of a glide reflection mirror. The security area at the runway was also expanded. Phase II involved the renovation of the passenger terminal and the improvement of the landside access. ^[11]

As of 2019, Faro Airport is capable of handling nine million passengers a year. There are 22 stands, of which 16 are remote, with 60 check-in desks and 36 boarding gates. ^[12]

In June 2022, it was announced that the airport would carry Gago Coutinho's name in honour of the navigator and admiral of Algarve origins who, in 1922, together with the aviator Sacadura Cabral, accomplished the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in the seaplane Lusitânia, named after the Roman Empire name for what would become Portugal. ^[13] The airport name became official in September 2022. At the same time it was announced the commissioning of a solar power plant with a capacity of 3MWp, enabling to produce 30% of the airport's electricity needs, reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 1,500 tonnes per year. ^[14]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled direct passenger flights at Faro Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus	Dublin [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Cork [15]
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle [ citation needed ]
Air Transat	Toronto–Pearson [16]
airBaltic	Riga [ citation needed ]
Animawings	Seasonal: Bucharest-Otopeni [17]
Azores Airlines	Ponta Delgada [ citation needed ]
British Airways	London–Gatwick [ citation needed ] Seasonal: London–City, [18] London–Heathrow [ citation needed ] Seasonal charter: Guernsey, [19] Isle of Man [20]
Brussels Airlines	Brussels [ citation needed ]
Condor	Seasonal: Frankfurt, [21] Hamburg, [22] Leipzig/Halle,[ citation needed ] Munich [22]
easyJet	Amsterdam, [23] Basel/Mulhouse, [23] Bristol,[ citation needed ] Geneva, [23] Glasgow, [24] Liverpool, [23] London–Gatwick,[ citation needed ] London–Luton,[ citation needed ] London–Southend, [25] Lyon, [23] Manchester,[ citation needed ] Nantes, [23] Paris–Orly [23] Seasonal: Belfast–International, [23] Birmingham,[ citation needed ] Bordeaux,[ citation needed ] Newcastle upon Tyne (resumes 30 March 2026), [26] Southampton, [27] Zürich [ citation needed ]
Edelweiss Air	Zürich [ citation needed ]
Eurowings	Cologne/Bonn,[ citation needed ] Düsseldorf,[ citation needed ] Stuttgart [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Berlin,[ citation needed ] Hamburg,[ citation needed ] Hannover,[ citation needed ] Prague [ citation needed ]
Finnair	Helsinki [ citation needed ]
Iberia	Seasonal: Madrid [28]
Icelandair	Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík (begins 26 March 2026) [29]
Jet2.com	Birmingham,[ citation needed ] Bristol, [30] East Midlands, [31] Edinburgh,[ citation needed ] Glasgow,[ citation needed ] Leeds/Bradford,[ citation needed ] Liverpool, [32] London–Gatwick (begins 28 March 2026), [33] London–Stansted,[ citation needed ] Manchester,[ citation needed ] Newcastle upon Tyne [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Belfast–International, [34] Bournemouth, [35] London–Luton [ citation needed ]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt,[ citation needed ] Munich [ citation needed ]
Luxair	Luxembourg [ citation needed ]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Copenhagen, [36] Oslo, [37] Stockholm–Arlanda [38]
Ryanair	Beauvais, [23] Belfast–International,[ citation needed ] Bergamo,[ citation needed ] Berlin, [23] Birmingham, [23] Bournemouth, [23] Bristol, [23] Charleroi, [23] Cork, Dublin, [23] East Midlands, [23] Edinburgh, [23] Eindhoven, [23] Hahn,[ citation needed ] Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, [23] Leeds/Bradford, [23] Liverpool, [23] London–Luton, [23] London–Stansted,[ citation needed ] Manchester, [23] Memmingen, [23] Newcastle upon Tyne, [23] Nuremberg,[ citation needed ] Porto,[ citation needed ] Vienna, [23] Warsaw–Modlin (resumes 29 March 2026), [39] Weeze [23] Seasonal: Aberdeen, [23] Barcelona, [40] Cardiff, [23] Cologne/Bonn, [23] Copenhagen, [40] Exeter,[ citation needed ] Glasgow–Prestwick, [23] Kerry, [23] Knock, [23] Kraków, [41] Luxembourg,[ citation needed ] Madrid,[ citation needed ] Marrakesh,[ citation needed ] Marseille,[ citation needed ] Newquay, [23] Norwich, [42] Rome–Fiumicino, [40] Shannon, [23] Teesside, [23] Toulouse [40]
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen,[ citation needed ] Stockholm–Arlanda [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Gothenburg,[ citation needed ] Oslo [ citation needed ]
Smartwings	Seasonal: Katowice [ citation needed ] Seasonal charter: Warsaw–Chopin [ citation needed ]
Swiss International Air Lines	Seasonal: Geneva [43]
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Funchal [44]
Transavia	Amsterdam,[ citation needed ] Brussels, [45] Eindhoven,[ citation needed ] Lyon, Nantes, [46] Paris–Orly,[ citation needed ] Rotterdam/The Hague [ citation needed ] Seasonal: Bordeaux,[ citation needed ] Nice [47]
TUI Airways	Seasonal: Birmingham,[ citation needed ] Cardiff (begins 21 May 2026), [48] East Midlands,[ citation needed ] London–Gatwick,[ citation needed ] Manchester [ citation needed ]
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Brussels [49]
TUI fly Deutschland	Seasonal: Düsseldorf, [50] Frankfurt, [51] Hannover, [52] Stuttgart [53]
United Airlines	Seasonal: Newark [54]
Volotea	Seasonal: Brest, [55] Lille, [56] Lyon, [57] Nantes, [58] Strasbourg [59]
Vueling	Seasonal: Barcelona,[ citation needed ] Bilbao [60] [ better source needed ]
Wizz Air	London–Gatwick [61] Seasonal: Bucharest–Otopeni (begins 31 March 2026), [62] Katowice (begins 30 March 2026) [63]

Statistics

Faro airport exterior at sunset

ATC tower

Passenger numbers

	Passengers	% Change
1990	2,757,749
1991	3,323,867	20.5%
1992	3,366,542	1.3%
1993	3,062,702	9.0%
1994	3,508,520	14.6%
1995	3,831,470	9.2%
1996	3,657,457	4.5%
1997	3,825,029	4.6%
1998	4,102,433	7.3%
1999	4,523,654	10.3%
2000	4,704,780	4.0%
2001	4,579,459	2.7%
2002	4,706,432	2.8%
2003	4,696,100	0.2%
2004	4,658,189	0.8%
2005	4,754,508	2.1%
2006	5,089,733	7.1%
2007	5,470,712	7.5%
2008	5,447,200	0.4%
2009	5,062,214	7.1%
2010	5,337,542	5.4%
2011	5,617,688	5.2%
2012	5,674,221	1.0%
2013	5,982,950	5.4%
2014	6,168,868	3.1%
2015	6,439,480	4.9%
2016	7,632,857	18.5%
2017	8,728,876	14.4%
2018	8,687,064	0.5%
2019	9,010,860	3.7%
2020	2,208,276	75.5%
2021	3,265,182	47.9%
2022	8,170,715	150.2%
2023	9,640,000	18.0%
2024	9,830,000	2.0%
Jan–Sep 2025	8,128,000	6.1%
Source: Pordata [64] Vinci [65] [3] INE [66]

Busiest routes

Top 10 busiest routes from Faro in 2024 ^[67]

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Airlines
1	London-Gatwick	854,228	British Airways, easyJet, TUI Airways, Wizz Air
2	Dublin	665,887	Aer Lingus, Ryanair
3	Manchester	478,657	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
4	London–Stansted	406,011	Jet2.com, Ryanair
5	Bristol	379,313	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair
6	London–Luton	294,340	easyJet, Ryanair
7	Paris–Orly	291,995	easyJet, Transavia
8	Lisbon	279,125	TAP Air Portugal
9	Amsterdam	277,445	easyJet
10	Birmingham	263,745	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways

Ground transport

Car

The airport is close to the A22 highway, with connections throughout the Algarve and direct to Lisbon and Spain.

Bus

Airport bus routes 14 and 16 run each day between Faro Airport and Faro city centre bus station. From the bus station there are connections to most other Portuguese cities as well as to many Spanish destinations. The airport bus route is currently run by a company called "Proximo".

Railway

The nearest railway station is Faro, which is about 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) away and is located close to Faro city centre bus station. ^[68] A study into a rail link to the airport was undertaken in 2018. ^[69]

Accidents and incidents

• On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 crash landed in bad weather at Faro Airport, killing 54 passengers and 2 crew out of a total of 340 occupants on board. ^[70]

See also

• Transport in Portugal
• List of airports in Portugal

References

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68. "Google Maps". Google Maps.
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External links

Media related to Faro Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Accident history for FAO at Aviation Safety Network