Faro International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto de Faro, IATA: FAO, ICAO: LPFR), officially Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport (Aeroporto Internacional de Faro - Gago Coutinho ), is located four kilometres (two nautical miles) west of the city of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 being the main gateway to Faro District (the year-round resort region of the Algarve) and southwestern Spain, with nine million passengers using the facility in 2019. Since 2022, it is named after Gago Coutinho, Portuguese geographer, cartographer, naval officer, historian and aviation pioneer.

History

Faro International Airport is located 4 km from Faro, the capital city of Algarve in Portugal. Situated in the southern coast of Portugal, the airport was constructed during the 1960s and inaugurated in 1965. The Portuguese Government is the owner of Faro airport although, in the 2010s, the administration was granted to Vinci Group, company winning the privatization of the portuguese airports operator - ANA Aeroportos de Portugal -which has been its operator. Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada, Santa Maria, Horta, Flores, Madeira, and Porto Santo, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation were conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98. With this concession, ANA became responsible for the planning, development and construction of future infrastructure.

Since its opening in 1966 to the 2000s, Faro airport has had two major developments: the new passenger terminal building in 1989, and its enlargement in 2001. Faced with growing traffic demand and passenger safety and satisfaction needs, the development plan for 2009–2013 saw Faro airport undergo extensive improvements to runway and infrastructure, as well as a widespread renovation of the airport terminal and commercial areas. The airport authority announced an expansion programme for Faro airport in February 2010. Phase I of the expansion started in 2010 and was completed by 2011. Phase II began in 2011 and was completed by 2013. Faro International Airport handled 5,447,200 passengers and recorded 39,789 aircraft movements in 2008. When the Phase II expansion was completed, the annual capacity of the airport increased from six million to eight million passengers. Passengers handled per hour increased to 3,000, the number of aircraft handled per hour increased to 30, and aircraft parking bays increased from 22 to 33. Additional shops and waiting areas were constructed as part of the expansion. In Phase I, new aircraft stands and taxiways were planned to be constructed. A new instrument landing system (ILS) was installed at the runway along with the installation of a glide reflection mirror. The security area at the runway was also expanded. Phase II involved the renovation of the passenger terminal and the improvement of the landside access.

As of 2019, Faro Airport is capable of handling nine million passengers a year. There are 22 stands of which 16 are remote, with 60 check-in desks and 36 boarding gates.

In June 2022 it was announced that the airport would carry Gago Coutinho's name in honour of the navigator and admiral who, in 1922, together with the aviator Sacadura Cabral, accomplished the First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in the seaplane Lusitânia, named after the Roman Empire name for what would become Portugal. The airport name became official in September 2022. At the same time it was announced the commissioning of a solar power plant with a capacity of 3MWp, enabling to produce 30% of the airport's electricity needs, reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 1,500 tonnes per year.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled direct passenger flights at Faro Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus	Dublin Seasonal: Cork
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Transat	Toronto–Pearson
Animawings	Seasonal: Bucharest-Otopeni (begins 4 June 2024)
Azores Airlines	Ponta Delgada (begins 2 June 2024)
British Airways	London–Gatwick Seasonal: London–City, London–Heathrow, Southampton Seasonal charter: Derry, Guernsey
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Chair Airlines	Seasonal: Zürich
Condor	Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig/Halle, Munich
easyJet	Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–International, Bordeaux, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Liverpool, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Nantes, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly Seasonal: Barcelona, Berlin, Birmingham, London–Southend, Southampton (begins 6 June 2024), Toulouse
Edelweiss Air	Zürich
Eurowings	Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart Seasonal: Hamburg
Finnair	Helsinki
Iberia	Seasonal: Madrid
Jet2.com	Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne Seasonal: Bournemouth (begins 4 April 2025)
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair	Luxembourg
Marabu	Seasonal: Hamburg, Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair	Aarhus, Beauvais, Belfast–International, Bergamo, Berlin, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Charleroi, Cork, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Glasgow–Prestwick, Hahn, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Manchester, Memmingen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newquay, Porto, Vienna, Weeze Seasonal: Aberdeen, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Budapest (begins 2 June 2024), Cardiff, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Exeter, Kerry, Knock, Kraków, Luxembourg, Madrid, Marrakesh, Marseille, Norwich, Nuremberg, Rome–Fiumicino, Shannon, Teesside, Toulouse, Warsaw–Modlin
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Oslo
Smartwings	Seasonal: Katowice, Prague, Warsaw–Chopin
Swiss International Air Lines	Seasonal: Geneva
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon
Transavia	Amsterdam, Brussels, Eindhoven, Lyon, Nantes, Paris–Orly, Rotterdam/The Hague Seasonal: Nice (begins 18 July 2024)
TUI Airways	Seasonal: Birmingham, East Midlands, London–Gatwick, Manchester
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Brussels
TUI fly Deutschland	Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart
United Airlines	Seasonal: Newark (begins 23 May 2025)
Volotea	Seasonal: Bilbao, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse
Vueling	Seasonal: Barcelona, Bilbao
Wizz Air	Seasonal: London–Gatwick

Statistics

Passenger numbers

	Passengers	% Change
1990	2,757,749
1991	3,323,867	20.5%
1992	3,366,542	1.3%
1993	3,062,702	9.0%
1994	3,508,520	14.6%
1995	3,831,470	9.2%
1996	3,657,457	4.5%
1997	3,825,029	4.6%
1998	4,102,433	7.3%
1999	4,523,654	10.3%
2000	4,704,780	4.0%
2001	4,579,459	2.7%
2002	4,706,432	2.8%
2003	4,696,100	0.2%
2004	4,658,189	0.8%
2005	4,754,508	2.1%
2006	5,089,733	7.1%
2007	5,470,712	7.5%
2008	5,447,200	0.4%
2009	5,062,214	7.1%
2010	5,337,542	5.4%
2011	5,617,688	5.2%
2012	5,674,221	1.0%
2013	5,982,950	5.4%
2014	6,168,868	3.1%
2015	6,439,480	4.9%
2016	7,632,857	18.5%
2017	8,728,876	14.4%
2018	8,687,064	0.5%
2019	9,010,860	3.7%
2020	2,208,276	75.5%
2021	3,265,182	47.9%
2022	8,170,715	150.2%
2023	9,640,000	18.0%
Jan–Apr 2024	2,077,000	2.4%
Source: Pordata Vinci INE

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from Faro Airport (2023)

Rank	City, airport	Passengers	% change from 2019	Top carriers
1	London-Gatwick	847,215	18.5%	British Airways, easyJet, TUI Airways, Wizz Air
2	Dublin	641,486	19.1%	Aer Lingus, Ryanair
3	Manchester	511,660	3.7%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
4	London–Stansted	432,019	7.8%	Jet2.com, Ryanair
5	Bristol	350,836	13.6%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair
6	Paris Orly	308,259	36.1%	easyJet, Transavia
7	London-Luton	300,822	5.5%	easyJet, Ryanair
8	Lisbon	285,867	1.8%	TAP Air Portugal
9	Birmingham	272,231	5.8%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
10	Porto	263,910	70.3%	Ryanair
11	Amsterdam	258,185	0.0%	Corendon Dutch Airlines, Transavia
12	East Midlands	254,473	0.4%	Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
13	Eindhoven	245,050	3.5%	Ryanair, Transavia
14	Belfast	237,644	13.4%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair
15	Liverpool	187,650	8.6%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair
16	Leeds Bradford	171,810	15.5%	Jet2.com, Ryanair
17	Frankfurt	163,931	29.2%	Condor, Lufthansa, TUI fly Deutschland
18	Edinburgh	160,108	21.9%	Jet2.com, Ryanair
19	Düsseldorf	159,152	11.7%	Condor, Eurowings, TUI fly Deutschland
20	Brussels	158,224	59.0%	Brussels Airlines, Transavia, TUI fly Belgium

Ground transport

Car

The airport is close to the A22 highway, with connections throughout the Algarve and direct to Lisbon and Spain. Faro airport has 3 different car parking areas. The closest parking area is called "Parking P0 / P1 – Classic", used for short-term visitors, while parking areas P2 and P3 are used for longer term car storage.

Kiss and Fly is the name for a form of fast parking at the airport.

Bus

Airport bus routes 14 and 16 run each day between Faro Airport and Faro city centre bus station. From the bus station there are connections to most other Portuguese cities as well as to many Spanish destinations. The airport bus route is currently run by a company called "Proximo".

Railway

The nearest railway station is Faro which is about 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) away and is located close to Faro city centre bus station. A study into a rail link to the airport was undertaken in 2018.

Accolades

In 2012, Airports Council International gave Faro Airport the title of Best Improvement in Europe.

Accidents and incidents

• On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 sustained a hard landing in bad weather at Faro Airport, killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board.
• On 24 October 2011, an overnight storm collapsed portions of terminal roofs and blew out most windows in the control tower. Four people were slightly injured, one severely.

See also

• Transport in Portugal
• List of airports in Portugal