New flights to destinations including Budapest, Dresden, Gothenburg, Lille, Newquay, Warsaw, Maastricht and Ostend, plus the additional legs on regular flights will contribute towards an approximate growth in seats of 17 percent to and from the region, to an estimated 8.4 million.
The new routes are being introduced ready for the airline industry’s summer season (IATA summer), which runs from 26 March until 28 October.
They will connect the Algarve to over 100 airports in 20 different countries, taking the total number of airlines operating at Faro to upwards of 50.
According to a statement from the airport, British, German and French markets are driving the demand for more destinations.
National airport management company ANA said: “The United Kingdom maintains its long-standing relevance and will be connected to the Algarve region by more than 30 Airports.
“With projected growth of 15 percent in the global offer of seats, this market should reach, by the end of the IATA summer 2017, a market share of slightly above 50 percent.”
The German market looks set to undergo significant strengthening too, with new routes from Dresden, Erfurt and Munster, courtesy of German airline Germania, while Ryanair will be increasing its regular service between Faro and Frankfurt to a daily flight.
Flights to and from France will also be consolidated, with two new routes to Lille and Nice, by easyJet, and four extra regular flights between the Algarve and Bordeaux, Marseille and Nantes (Volotea) and Paris (EasyJet).
Desidério Silva, head of the Algarve Tourist Board said “It is with great satisfaction that we welcome the announcement of 11 new routes linking the Algarve to main cities in Europe.
“The results show that the strategy of attracting routes is bearing fruit. The Algarve is a favourite destination for millions of people around the world, and for it to continue being the choice of many tourists, it is fundamental to invest in the constant improvement of accessibility.
“Serving the destination with international flights will allow us to attract more tourists to the Algarve, so negotiation with operators and airlines continues to be a strategic bet for the Algarve’s Tourism Region,” he concluded.