Passenger traffic at Portuguese airports rose by 5.2% in August compared with the same month in 2024, bringing total growth for the first eight months of the year to 4.9%, according to data released today by Statistics Portugal (INE).
The INE’s Rapid Air Transport Statistics report shows that 7.8 million passengers passed through the country’s airports in August, with an average of 122,400 people disembarking each day, up 5.0% from August 2024, when the daily average stood at 116,500.
Between January and August 2025, a total of 49.8 million passengers were handled across Portugal’s airports, representing a 4.9% year-on-year increase.
The United Kingdom remained the leading country of origin and destination for flights during the period, with passenger arrivals up 2.7% and departures up 2.5% compared to last year.
France retained its position as the second most significant market, despite a drop in both arrivals (-1.6%) and departures (-1.3%), while Spain, Germany, and Italy followed in third, fourth, and fifth place respectively.
Lisbon Airport accounted for nearly half of all passenger traffic, 48.4%, handling 24.1 million travellers between January and August, a 3.1% rise year on year. Faro Airport saw a stronger increase of 6.8%, with 7.3 million passengers (14.6% of the national total), while Porto Airport handled 11.3 million passengers (22.7% of the total), marking growth of 5.5%.
In August alone, 26,300 commercial aircraft landed at Portuguese airports. International traffic made up the bulk of passenger arrivals, 80.6% of the total, or 3.1 million people, a 4.8% increase on the year.
Most international passengers arrived from other European countries (65.8% of the total, up 4.4%), followed by the Americas, which accounted for 9.7% of all arrivals, an 8.7% rise compared with August 2024.
As for departures, 81.5% of passengers were on international flights, totalling 3.3 million travellers (+5.5%). European airports remained the top destinations (67.5% of all outbound passengers, +5.4%), followed again by the Americas (9.5%, +5.9%).
The INE noted that, with the exception of February, Portuguese airports have been recording historic monthly highs in passenger numbers since the start of 2025.
Cargo and mail traffic, however, slipped 1.4% in August compared with the same month last year, to 20,500 tonnes. Despite the monthly dip, overall cargo volumes rose 2.1% between January and August, reaching 168,800 tonnes.
Lisbon Airport dominated cargo handling during the period, accounting for 78.1% of the total, 131,800 tonnes, up 3.3% year on year. Across all other airports combined, freight and mail traffic fell by 1.8%.
