Faro Airport is about to record an increase in its regular commercial operation for the Winter Iata 2025/26, which runs from October 26, 2025 to March 28, 2026. According to data from the World Aeronautical Information Aggregator, analyzed by expert Pedro Castro, director and founder of Skyexpert – an aviation, airport and tourism consulting firm – the Algarve Airport – the Algarve Airport – the Algarve Airport – the Algarve airport – You will see almost 3.5% growth in the number of flights and 5% in available places compared to the same period of 2024/25.
According to the analysis of Pedro Castrothe Faro scheduled arrivals during this season will total 7081 flights, compared to the 6843 registered in 2024/25, representing an increase of about 3.5%. The places available on these flights will rise to 1,342,309, greater than 1,278,062 of the previous winter, which is equivalent to a growth of 5%. This disadvantage between the increase of flights and places is due to the use of larger capacity aircraft: each flight that land in Faro will have, on average, 189.6 places, three more than 186.6 average places in 2024.
Increasing non-schengen traffic
“More than the number of flights, what tells for an airport like Faro is the effective capacity offered to passengers. Faro shows a healthy evolution because growth is pulled by larger and more efficient aircraft,” he says Pedro Castro in your prepared analysis for the Algarve postcard. A prominent aspect in the analysis is the growing weight of non-schengen traffic.
The UK, Ireland, and Canada markets will have an even greater impact: almost 51% of available places come from countries outside the Schengen space, a higher than 50% value recorded in 2024. In addition, the average flight capacity from these markets is 193.2 seats, higher than the highest percentage of places. This scenario, according to Pedro Castropresses the airport infrastructure, particularly in the Non-Schengen area: “If half of the passengers in Faro arrive from outside the Schengen space, it is inevitable that Ana Aeroportos de Portugal has to invest in the passport control zone.
Comfort on arrival is today a factor highly valued by passengers, especially for those who arrive on long -course flights as will be increasingly the case in Faro, ”says the expert.
Despite this growth, the operation in Faro remains strongly dependent on the four main emitting markets: United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland concentrate 72.8% of places in 2025, above 71.2% of 2024. “If on the one hand this concentration reinforces the loyalty of key markets, on the other hand to stagnation or instability, depending on these countries. Market diversification remains more an ambition on role than a reality and it is necessary to attract more direct flights to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, ”he warns Pedro Castro.
Remarkable growth in domestic
On the other hand, household flights show remarkable growth despite the suspension of the TAP Faro -Funchal route during the winter. These flights now represent almost 11% of total operations, when in 2024 they did not reach 10%. For this season, Faro has scheduled 766 domestic arrival, an increase of 95 compared to the previous year. This increment is due mainly to Ryanair on the Porto-Faro route, with 238 planned flights (compared to 172 in 2024), and Azores Airlines on the Ponta Delgadafaro Route, with 66 flights (compared to 44 in 2024).
The analysis of Pedro Castro It also includes a historical comparison that illustrates the contrast of strategies between companies: Ryanair, on the Porto – Faro route, started operations in winter 2009 with 87 flights (16,443 seats) and evolved to 238 flights in 2025 (46,230 seats). TAP, on the Lisbon-Faro route, kept the same 462 winter flights between 2009 and 2025, merely changing the Embraers (116 seats) for Airbus A320 (164 seats). “While Ryanair bet on expansion and traffic capture, including the creation of an operational base, TAP remained immovable, even in a context where traffic in Faro has doubled in these 16 years. This is a clear sign of strategies: Some companies explore potential, others advocate the status quo,” says the director of Skyexpert.
In the conclusion of your analysis, Pedro Castro It summarizes that Winter Iata 2025/26 in Faro reveals moderate but solid growth ( +3.5% on flights and +5% in places), an increasing weight of non-schengen traffic (51%), a concentration in traditional markets (72.8%) and a growing dynamic of domestic traffic, especially with low-cost companies. However, it identifies risks such as the lack of market diversification and the seasonality of air access – in the summer season there are 4.6 million places to arrive in Faro, more than triple of places in winter -, limited capacity for passport control and strategic TAP stagnation.
This analysis, based exclusively on Cirium data and prepared by Pedro Castrounderlines the need for more ambitious investments and strategies to enhance the gateway to tourism throughout the year.
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