The number of passengers at national airports “slightly slowed down” in May, reported the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Monday.
“In May 2025, 6.9 million passengers and 22.8 thousand tons of cargo and mail were handled at national airports, corresponding to increases of 5.7% and 8.1%, respectively, compared to May 2024 (+8.1% and +1.7% in the previous month, respectively),” the INE report stated.
In May of this year, an average of 112.9 thousand passengers disembarked daily, a figure higher than in May 2024 (106.4 thousand), showing a 6.1% growth.
During the same month, 83.1% of passengers disembarking at national airports were from international traffic, totaling 2.9 million passengers (+7.0%), the majority coming from Europe (69.3% of the total), representing a growth of 5.7% compared to May 2024.
The American continent was the second main origin, accounting for 9.4% of the total disembarked passengers (+12.2%), according to the INE report.
Regarding embarked passengers, 82.6% corresponded to international traffic, totaling 2.8 million passengers (+6.0%), with 70.0% of the total heading to airports in Europe, marking a growth of 4.7% compared to May 2024.
American airports were the second main destination for embarked passengers (8.6% of the total; +11.0%), the INE concluded.
Where do the flights come from and go to?
Until May, the United Kingdom was prominent concerning arrivals and departures at national airports, according to the INE:
“The United Kingdom remained the main country of origin and destination for flights, considering the first five months of 2025, with passenger disembarked and embarked numbers increasing compared to the same period of 2024 (+2.8% and +2.2%, respectively),” it was stated.
France retained the second position and Spain the third position, as the main countries of origin and destination.
The INE notes that “the daily movement of aircraft and passengers is typically influenced by seasonal fluctuations and weekly cycles,” with “higher daily values generally found in the summer period and, in 2024, Sunday was the week day with the highest number of disembarked passengers.”
“Since the beginning of 2025, monthly historical highs have been recorded, except for the month of February, with new monthly historical highs in the number of passengers handled at national airports in April and May,” the INE concluded.
Regarding arrivals, there was an average daily disembarkation of 112.9 thousand passengers in May 2025, a figure higher than May 2024 (106.4 thousand), corresponding to a growth of 6.1%.
Between January and May 2025, Lisbon airport handled 51.1% of the total passengers (around 14 million), +2.8% compared to the same period in 2024. Faro airport saw a passenger movement growth of 7.6% (3.4 million; 12.4% of the total), and Porto airport handled 22.9% of the total passengers (6.3 million), growing 5.0%.
