The main International airports in Portugal are Lisbon, Porto and Faro in the mainland, with Faro in the Algarve, and Funchal in Madeira Island and the aeroporto of Ponta Delgada in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel island in Açores..
Lisbon Airport
Lisbon airport (LIS) before known as Lisbon Portela Airport and now renamed Humberto Delgado Airport, is the main international gateway to Portugal. Being the 29th largest airport in Europe, in terms of passenger volume, having served 29,006,042 passengers in 2018.
Lisbon Airport Opened on 15th October 1942 with four runways each a kilometre long. It has since expanded and currently has sixteen jet ways. Portugal was a neutral country during World War II and therefore the airport was open to both Axis and Allied forces during this period. Since then Lisbon Airport has undergone upgrades on several occasions with major airlines using it over the years.
Lisbon Airport is located 7km north of the capital Lisbon. This strategic location makes it easy for you to get to your hotel without much of a hustle. The strategic location of Lisbon Airport gives it an edge over other airports not only in Portugal but also in Europe at large.
Lisbon airport is the main hub of Portugal's flag carrier TAP Air Portugal including its subsidiary TAP Express in addition of being a hub for low-cost airlines Ryanair and easyJet. It is a focus city for Azores Airlines, euroAtlantic Airways, Hi Fly, Orbest, and White Airways. The airport is run by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, which was concessioned to the French group Vinci Airports in February 2013
Porto Airport
Porto, and the North of Portugal are serviced by the Porto Airport, now called Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport. The airport code is OPO, which is how the airlines and various travel websites refer to the website when booking and scheduling flights. The airport is currently the second-busiest in the country, based on aircraft operations; and the second-busiest in passengers, based on Aeroportos de Portugal traffic statistics, after Lisbon Airport and before Faro Airport. The airport is a base for easyJet, Ryanair, TAP Air Portugal and its subsidiary TAP Express.
The airport is located about 6 miles from the city center of Porto and is operated by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal. The airport is also accessible via public transportation, making it easy for tourists and locals to reach the airport and the surrounding areas very easily. The airport itself is very modern, featuring three levels in the terminal building. The ground level is Arrivals, baggage claim and all of the rental car counters. On the second level, there is a shopping area and the Boarding Lounge. Finally on the third level, there is Departures, some food and beverage locations, currency exchange, banks, a pharmacy as well as additional services.
The Porto airport opened in 1945 and was initially known as Pedras Rubras Airport, after the name for the locality where the airport is located: Pedras Rubras and has been renovated and transformed over the years, partly because of Porto hosting many of the Euro 2004 football championship matches. The airport is extremely easy to get to and very comfortable to fly in and out of.
Faro Airport
Faro Airport (IATA: FAO, ICAO: LPFR), also known as Algarve Airport, is located 4 km to the west of Faro in Portugal.´
The airport opened in July 1965. More than 8 million passengers used Faro airport in 2017 and hit the 9 million passengers milestone in 2019.
Faro airport became a hub for the first time in March 2010, when Ryanair decided to base seven of its aircraft there. It is very busy from March to October, to the extent that it becomes a slot coordinated airport.
Operated by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal SA, Faro Airport is the only airport serving the Algarve, its nearest rivals being Sevilla (SVQ) and Lisbon (LIS), both of which are more than 200 kilometres and a two-hour-plus drive away.
Faro Airport is a popular destination for holidaymakers from all over Europe and further afield but it particularly attracts travellers from the UK and Ireland, Holland, Germany and France.
In July 2017, Faro airport unveiled a new terminal, after a period of expansion and remodeling works.
This extension allows the airport to continue to grow in a sustained way.
Car Hire at the Main Portuguese Airports
For the millions of tourists landing in Portugal all over the year there are a good network of rent a car companies operating at the main portuguese airports capable to supply rental cars for all needs. To better enjoy a stressfree experience and a quick pick up of a car rental when arriving in Portugal it is advisable to make your Portugal car hire reservation online before arriving to guarantee that your car hire is waiting for you and ready to be collected as soon as you arrive.
Tourist Offer
Portugal was chosen by American readers as the Best European Country to visit - Source: USA Today It ranked 15th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015, having hosted in 2016 more than 16 million tourists In 2015, the Algarve region was considered the best beach destination in Europe Low Cost of Living According to UBS (Prices and Earnings 2015), the cost of living is considered low for most foreigners The price of the real estate market is also below the European average and very attractive to foreign investment
See here some pictures of Portugal