Porto, 13 Feb 2025 (Lusa) - Porto's Francisco Sá Carneiro airport, which is located in the municipality of Maia, served 15.9 million passengers in 2024, more than double the three international airports in the neighbouring Spanish province of Galicia (a combined 5.9 million), according to official figures released on Thursday.

Data from Portugal's National Statistics Institute (INE) on the number of passengers transported at national airports show Porto registering 15.9 million passengers, an increase of 4.8% on the 15.2 million transported in 2023.

The 2024 figures reaffirm Porto airport's leadership as the largest airport hub in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, since Galicia's three international airports (Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña and Vigo) together carried 5.9 million passengers.

By airport, according to figures from Spanish airport manager AENA, Santiago de Compostela served 3.6 million passengers, A Coruña 1.2 million and Vigo 1.1 million.

Only Santiago de Compostela airport saw an increase compared to 2023 (2.9%), while A Coruña and Vigo saw passenger numbers fall by 1.2% and 6.8% respectively.

Vigo airport was closed for most of May; Galicia is also served by a high-speed line to Madrid, on which more services ran during 2024 than in 2023.

As for Porto airport, a high-speed rail link is planned for 2032, linking it by tunnel to Porto's Campanhã station, with connections to Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria and Lisbon, as well as later to Braga and to Galicia.

JE/ARO // ARO.

Lusa