Three new air links to the Algarve have been announced by Scandinavian Airlines, Faro will be connected to Aarhus in Denmark, Gothenburg in Sweden and Oslo, the Norwegian capital, (pictured).
The routes to Denmark and Sweden will be available from April to October 2019, with a weekly frequency on Saturday. The Oslo connection will be launched on June 28, and is scheduled to run until August 9, twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.
Dora Coelho, the executive director of the Algarve Tourism Association, commented that "these links are of strategic importance for tourism in the Algarve, especially as regards the revitalization of the golf product, one of the areas most appreciated by the Swedish and Danish market."
“Factors such as our beaches, the climate and the fact that we are recognised as a destination of excellence for golf, are increasing the number of tourists from the Scandinavian countries who choose the region as a place to have a second home," said Coelho.
In the year to August, approximately 53,000 Danish, 56,000 Swedish and 39,000 Norwegian passengers came to the region.
Not to be outdone, the strike-prone Irish airline, Ryanair, announced 12 new routes to Portugal next summer.
Flights to Lisbon, Faro and the Azores destinations of Ponta Delgada and Terceira will be laid on from Alicante and Seville, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brive and Clermont in France, Cagliari in Sardinia, Edinburgh, Southend-on-Sea, Marrakesh, Milan Bergamo and Venice Treviso.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary claimed this was an ‘investment’ of €100 million at a time when airlines, not least his own, faced a difficult time.
As for the long-running dispute with Ryanair pilots and staff, O’Leary said it is important to reach an agreement with unions.
