“During the first half of 2024, there were historic highs in monthly passenger numbers at national airports”, highlights the INE, revealing that, “in June 2024, an average daily disembarkation of around 113 thousand passengers was recorded, a figure 5.5% higher than that recorded in June 2023 (107.0 thousand)”.

In the first half of the year, the highlight was Lisbon Airport, which handled 50.8% of the total passengers (16.7 million; +5.3% compared to the same period in 2023), while Porto Airport concentrated 22.8% of the total passengers handled (7.5 million; +5.8%) and Faro Airport recorded a 3.3% growth in passenger movement, totalling 4.3 million.

The INE also states that, in the first six months of the year, the United Kingdom was “the main country of origin and destination for flights, having recorded growth in the number of passengers disembarking (+2.5%) and embarking (+2.9%) compared to the same period in 2023”.

In contrast, France recorded decreases in the number of passengers disembarking (-1.9%) and embarking (-2.1%), occupying 2nd place, while Spain, Germany and Italy occupied 3rd, 4th and 5th places, respectively, as the main countries of origin and destination.

The sixth month of the year contributed to the historic results of the semester, during which national airports handled 6.7 million passengers, representing a growth of 5.6% compared to the same month last year, and received 23.3 thousand aircraft on commercial flights, an increase of 2.0% compared to the same month in 2023.