National airports handled 14.497 million passengers in the first quarter of this year, a figure that represents year-on-year growth of 3.9%, according to data released this Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute ().
According to the “Quick Air Transport Statistics”, the first three months of 2026 were marked by successive monthly historical highs in the number of passengers handled at Portuguese airports.
The United Kingdom once again assumed itself as the main origin and destination market for flights carried out in Portugal, registering an increase of 3.9% in passengers disembarked and 1.4% in those embarked.
Lisbon leads passenger movement
Spain and France occupied, respectively, the second and third positions among the main countries of origin, also alternating these positions in destinations. Germany and Brazil complete the top five markets.
In the first quarter, Lisbon airport accounted for 54.2% of the total number of passengers handled, corresponding to 7.9 million people and a year-on-year growth of 3.1%.
Porto airport registered 3.5 million passengers, equivalent to 24% of the national total, representing an increase of 8.3% compared to the same period last year.
Faro airport handled 1.3 million passengers in the first three months of the year, which corresponds to 8.8% of the national total and a growth of 2.4%.
Air cargo records slight drop
INE also revealed a 0.3% reduction in cargo and mail movement at national airports during the first quarter.
Lisbon airport concentrated 77% of the total movement of goods, with 46.2 thousand tons transported, 1.4% less compared to the same period in 2025.
At the remaining national airports, cargo and mail movement recorded a combined growth of 3.6%.
Considering just the month of March, 19,400 aircraft landed at Portuguese airports on commercial flights.
March breaks new historical record
In March 2026, 5.6 million passengers and 22.8 thousand tons of cargo and mail were handled.
According to INE, after the historic highs recorded in January and February, “March again reached a new historic high in the number of passengers handled at national airports”.
On average, national airports registered the daily disembarkation of 92 thousand passengers, “above the 88.2 thousand registered in March 2025”.
In the same month, 83.4% of disembarked passengers corresponded to international traffic, totaling 2.4 million passengers.
Europe maintains leadership in connections
The majority of international passengers originated on the European continent, responsible for 66.7% of total international arrivals, an increase of 5.5%.
The American continent was the second main source of passengers, accounting for 10.3% of the total and registering an increase of 13.5%.
Regarding boardings, 82.8% of passengers traveled on international flights, totaling 2.3 million people.
European airports continued to be the main destination for embarked passengers, while the American continent occupied second place, with year-on-year growth of 15.2%.
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