Flights movements up 344% on same period in 2021
The number of passengers handled at Portugal’s airports in the first half of this year was up 344% on the same period last year, at 24.3 million, with the figure for June up 186%, INE, National Statistics Institute, reports today.
This means the number of passengers is still down (by 12.8%) on the same period pre-pandemic (in 2019), but everything (statistically, at least, is moving in the right direction).
The fact that many passengers’ experiences have been well below optimum (with long delays and frustrating hold ups) is not part of INE’s brief.
The institute reports that Lisbon airport handled “12.1 million passengers – 49.8% of the national total – up 380.9% on the year, but down 17.0% on the same period in 2019”; Porto airport handled 5.52 million passengers, up 335.0%, while Faro saw the fastest growth, up 503.2% to 3.46 million passengers”.
June maintained the growth trend, with 20,800 aircraft on commercial flights (up 74.4% year-on-year) and all airports together recording 5.7 million passengers (up 186.0%), while 18,200 tonnes of cargo and mail was transported (up 16.9%).
Still, “compared to June 2019, the number of aircraft landed was down 3.3%, and passengers down 2.7%, while the movement of cargo and mail was up 11.4%”, says Lusa.
Around 80.8% of passengers who landed in Portugal in June 2022 came from abroad – against 70.9% in the same month last year – with the majority (68.5%) coming from elsewhere in Europe.
As for embarking passengers, 80.4% were headed abroad – against 70.4% in June 2021 – with the main destination again Europe (68.9%).
Overall, this year has seen a “tendency to approach the levels recorded in the pre-pandemic period,” says INE.
“In June 2022, there was an average daily landing of 95,900 passengers at [Portugal’s] airports (87,100 in the previous month), approaching the value observed in June 2019 (98,100).”
During the first half of the year 108,859 tonnes of cargo and mail were handled at Portugal’s airports, up 29.2% on year earlier and up 10.3% on the first six months of 2019.
In terms of passengers disembarking from and embarking on international flights, in the first half of 2022, the UK was the main country of origin and destination, with year-on-year increases of 720.8% and 717.5%.
This was followed by France, with the number of passengers disembarking from flights from that country in the first half up 294.7% year-on-year, and the number embarking up 290.0%.
In third place as the main country of origin and destination was Spain.
Source: LUSA
