Lisbon, Nov. 12, 2025 (Lusa) - The number of passengers handled at national airports rose by 4.8% up to September, compared to the same period in 2024, to 57.028 million, according to figures released by Statistics Portugal (INE) on Wednesday.
According to INE's Rapid Air Transport Statistics, Lisbon airport accounted for 48.1% of all passengers in that period, or 27.5 million, which represents an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period in 2024.
Faro airport saw a 6.1% increase in passenger movements (8.5 million, 14.9% of the total), and Porto handled 22.7% of the total (around 13 million) and saw a 5.8% increase.
In September alone, 24,600 aircraft landed at national airports on commercial flights, corresponding to 7.2 million passengers (embarkations, disembarkations, and direct transits), and 20,200 tonnes of cargo and mail were handled (+4%, +3.4%, and -2.3%, respectively, compared to September 2024).
INE pointed out that the daily movement of aircraft and passengers is strongly influenced by seasonal fluctuations and the weekly cycle, with the highest daily figures generally recorded in the summer, and last year Sunday was the day of the week with the highest number of disembarked passengers.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been historic monthly highs in the number of passengers handled at national airports, except in February.
In September, the average daily disembarkation reached 118,900 passengers, a figure higher than the same month in 2024 (115,100), representing a growth of 3.3%.
Considering the volume of passengers disembarking and embarking on international flights between January and September, the United Kingdom was the leading country of origin and destination, with a 2.3% increase in passenger numbers compared to the same period last year.
In the opposite direction, France recorded decreases in the number of passengers disembarked (-1.8%) and embarked (-1.4%), ranking second, followed by Spain, Germany and Italy in the third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively, among the main countries of origin and destination.
In the first nine months of the year, there was a 1.6% increase in the movement of cargo and mail at national airports compared to the same period in 2024, totalling 189,000 tonnes.
The movement of goods at Lisbon airport accounted for 77.9% of the total, reaching 147,200 tonnes, an increase of 2.3% compared to the same period in 2024.
At the other airports, cargo and mail movements fell by 0.8% between January and September.
MPE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
