Faro Airport

Faro Airport Aeroporto Internacional de Faro
IATA: FAO ICAO: LPFR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Vinci Group
Operator	ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Serves	Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Focus city for	easyJet[1] Ryanair
Elevation AMSL	7 m / 24 ft
Coordinates	37°00′52″N 007°57′57″W / 37.01444°N 7.96583°W / 37.01444; -7.96583Coordinates: 37°00′52″N 007°57′57″W / 37.01444°N 7.96583°W / 37.01444; -7.96583
Website	ana.pt
Map
LPFR Location within Portugal
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,490 8,169 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 9,009,000 Passengers change 18-19 3.7% Aircraft Movements 58,788 Movements change 18-19 2.5%
Sources: ANAC,[2] ANA,[3][4] WAD[5]

Faro Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional de Faro) (IATA: FAO, ICAO: LPFR), also known as Algarve Airport, is located 4 km (2.5 mi) to the west^[6] of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965.^[7] A total of 9.0 million passengers used Faro airport in 2019. The airport became a hub for the first time in March 2010, when Ryanair decided to base seven of its aircraft there.^[8] It is very busy from March to October, to the extent that it becomes a slot coordinated airport.^[9]

History[]

Faro International Airport is located 4 km from Faro, the capital city of Algarve in Portugal. Situated in the southern coast of Portugal, the airport was constructed during the 1960s and inaugurated in 1965. The Portuguese Government was the owner of Faro airport until the 2010s when Vinci Group became its owner. The national airport authority ANA Aeroportos de Portugal has been its operator. Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada, Santa Maria, Horta, Flores, Madeira, and Porto Santo, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation were conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98. With this concession, ANA became responsible for the planning, development and construction of future infrastructure.^[10]

Since its opening in 1966 to the 2000s, Faro airport has had two major developments: the new passenger terminal building in 1989, and its enlargement in 2001. Faced with growing traffic demand and passenger safety and satisfaction needs, the development plan for 2009–2013 saw Faro airport undergo extensive improvements to runway and infrastructure, as well as a widespread renovation of the airport terminal and commercial areas.^[11] The airport authority announced an expansion programme for Faro airport in February 2010. Phase I of the expansion started in 2010 and was completed by 2011. Phase II began in 2011 and was completed by 2013. Faro International Airport handled 5,447,200 passengers and recorded 39,789 aircraft movements in 2008. When the Phase II expansion was completed, the annual capacity of the airport increased from six million to eight million passengers. Passengers handled per hour increased to 3,000, the number of aircraft handled per hour increased to 30, and aircraft parking bays increased from 22 to 33. Additional shops and waiting areas were constructed as part of the expansion. In Phase I, new aircraft stands and taxiways were planned to be constructed. A new instrument landing system (ILS) was installed at the runway along with the installation of a glide reflection mirror. The security area at the runway was also expanded. Phase II involved the renovation of the passenger terminal and the improvement of the landside access.^[12]

As of 2019, Faro Airport is capable of handling nine million passengers a year. There are 22 stands of which 16 are remote, with 60 check-in desks and 36 boarding gates.^[9]

Airlines and destinations[]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled direct passenger flights at Faro Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus	Dublin Seasonal: Cork
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle[13]
Air Transat	Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Albastar	Seasonal charter: Derry (begins 29 June 2022)[14]
British Airways	London–Gatwick, London–Heathrow Seasonal: London-City, Southampton
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels
Chair Airlines	Seasonal: Zürich
Corendon Airlines	Brussels
Corendon Dutch Airlines	Seasonal: Amsterdam, Maastricht/Aachen
easyJet	Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–International, Berlin, Bordeaux, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Liverpool,Luxembourg, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Nice, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly, Toulouse Seasonal: Lille,[15] Luxembourg,[15] Nantes (begins 3 November 2021),[16] Zürich[15]
Edelweiss Air	Seasonal: Zürich
Eurowings	Cologne/Bonn, Munich, Stockholm–Arlanda (begins 27 March 2022),[17] Stuttgart Seasonal: Hamburg
Green Airlines	Seasonal: Groningen[18]
Iberia Regional	Seasonal: Madrid
Jet2.com	Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester Seasonal: Belfast–International, Bristol,[19] Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair	Luxembourg
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo
Ryanair	Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Charleroi, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Glasgow–Prestwick, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (begins 1 November 2021),[20] Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London–Stansted, London–Southend (ends 30 October 2021),[21] Manchester, Marseille, Newcastle upon Tyne, Porto, Vienna, Weeze Seasonal: Aberdeen, Bordeaux, Cardiff, Cork, Kerry, Knock, London–Luton, Memmingen, Newquay, Shannon, Teesside,[22] Warsaw–Modlin
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen, Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Oslo[23]
Smartwings	Seasonal: Katowice,[24] Prague, Warsaw–Chopin[24]
Swiss International Air Lines	Seasonal: Geneva[25]
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon
Transavia	Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Lyon, Montpellier,[26] Nantes, Paris–Orly, Rotterdam/The Hague
TUI Airways[27]	London–Gatwick, Manchester Seasonal: Birmingham, Doncaster/Sheffield (begins 1 May 2022),[27] East Midlands, Newcastle upon Tyne
TUI fly Belgium[28]	Seasonal: Brussels, Lille[28]
TUI fly Deutschland	Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart
Volotea	Seasonal: Bilbao,[29] Bordeaux, Lyon,[30] Madrid,[30] Marseille, Nantes
Vueling	Seasonal: Barcelona
Wizz Air	Cardiff,[31] Doncaster/Sheffield,[32] London–Luton,[33] Rome-Fiumicino,[34] Vienna

Statistics[]

See source Wikidata query and sources.

Busiest routes from Faro Airport (2019)^[35]

Rank	City, airport	Passengers	% change	Top carriers
1	London-Gatwick	714,769	0.3%	British Airways, easyJet, TUI Airways
2	Dublin	538,500	2.3%	Aer Lingus, Ryanair
3	Manchester	531,253	12.0%	easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
4	London–Stansted	400,723	8.6%	Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
5	Bristol	308,963	2.1%	easyJet, Ryanair, TUI Airways
6	Lisboa	291,151	8%	TAP Air Portugal
7	Birmingham	288,965	11.0%	Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways
8	London-Luton	285,236	1.8%	easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air
9	Amsterdam	258,293	6.7%	Corendon Dutch Airlines, Transavia
10	East Midlands	255,516	3.2%	Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways

Ground transport[]

Car[]

The airport is close to the A22 highway, with connections throughout the Algarve and direct to Lisbon and Spain. Faro airport has 3 different car parking areas. The closest parking area is called "Parking P0 / P1 – Classic", used for short-term visitors, while parking areas P2 and P3 are used for longer term car storage.^{[citation needed]}

Kiss and Fly is the name for a form of fast parking at the airport. One can drive to the airport to pick up or drop someone off free of charge for up to ten minutes. To drop off passengers, one can stop at the departures curbside and to pick up passengers, you enter the P2 Car Park.^[36]

Bus[]

Airport bus routes 14 and 16 run each day between Faro Airport and Faro city centre bus station. From the bus station there are connections to most other Portuguese cities as well as to many Spanish destinations. The airport bus route is currently run by a company called "Proximo".

Railway[]

The nearest railway station is Faro station which is about 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) away and is located close to Faro city centre bus station.^[37] A study into a rail link to the airport was undertaken in 2018.^[38]

Taxis[]

Public taxis are available from the airport and operate 24/7. There are several taxi ranks which you can use to hire a taxi from, or you can use a free phone inside the airport to call a taxi. The majority of curbsidetaxis at the airport will only carry up to four passengers; if you require a bigger taxi, it is best to use the phone inside.

Ride hailing[]

Ride hailing companies' services are widely available in the area.

Car rentals[]

There are all major car rental companies, in the arrivals area, that can provide car hire service from the Airport. Companies without an airport desk are located at "Parking P4 - Car Hire".

Accolades[]

In 2012, Airports Council International gave Faro Airport the title of Best Improvement in Europe.^{[39][circular reference]}

Accidents and incidents[]

• On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 sustained a hard landing in bad weather at Faro Airport, killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board.^[40]
• On 24 October 2011, an overnight storm collapsed portions of terminal roofs and blew out most windows in the control tower. Four people were slightly injured, one severely.^[41]

See also[]

• Transport in Portugal
• List of airports in Portugal

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Faro Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Accident history for FAO at Aviation Safety Network