Faro Airport breaks 10-million passenger barrier for the first time

Faro’s Gago Coutinho Airport surpassed 10 million passengers in 2025 for the first time in its 60-year history, marking a major milestone for southern Portugal’s main aviation gateway. Passenger traffic rose 6% year-on-year, making 2025 the strongest year ever for the Algarve airport.

The achievement was supported by a broad and increasingly diversified network. In 2025, Faro was connected to 77 destinations across 22 countries, served by 33 airlines on a regular basis—helping to further reduce the region’s long-standing seasonality. Six new routes were launched, including Newark (United Airlines), Helsinki (Finnair), Reykjavik (Play), Funchal (TAP Air Portugal), Riga (airBaltic) and Krakow (Ryanair), alongside multiple frequency increases on established routes.

The United Kingdom remained Faro’s largest market, accounting for 46% of total passenger traffic, followed by Germany, Ireland, France and the Netherlands. According to ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the winter 2024/25 season was the strongest on record, with winter traffic more than doubling over the past decade.

VINCI Airports continues to invest in the airport’s infrastructure and passenger experience, with ongoing projects including terminal roof renovation, air-conditioning upgrades, biometric processing, and new self-service bag drop facilities. With traffic now well above the terminal’s theoretical capacity of 8 million passengers, preparations are underway for a new expansion plan, following the last major enlargement in 2017.