Flights to Portugal — Airports, Airlines, and How to Find the Best Fares

Portugal is one of Europe’s most accessible destinations by air, with dozens of carriers connecting it to every major European city and direct transatlantic routes from the US east coast. This guide covers the airports, airlines, and practical strategies for finding the best fares. Once you’ve landed, see our Lisbon city guide or Porto city guide for transport and neighbourhood information.

Portugal’s Main Airports

Lisbon — Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS)

Lisbon is Portugal’s main international hub. The airport is 7km north of the city centre and connected by Metro (Red Line, Aeroporto station) to Alameda (connection to Blue and Green lines) in 20 minutes for €1.65. Taxis to the centre cost €15–22. Uber runs typically €10–16.

LIS handles the most route variety of any Portuguese airport, with TAP’s intercontinental hub operations, all major European low-cost carriers, and transatlantic routes from North America, Brazil, and beyond.

Porto — Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO)

Porto’s airport is the second largest in mainland Portugal and an increasingly important hub. The Metro (Violet Line E, Aeroporto station) connects the airport to central Porto (Trindade station, for connections) in 30 minutes for €2.35. Uber runs €12–16 to the city centre.

OPO has strong connections to the UK (Ryanair, easyJet, TAP, British Airways), Germany (Ryanair, Lufthansa, TAP), France (Transavia, Air France), and the Netherlands (Transavia, KLM). Fewer intercontinental options than Lisbon, but TAP flies Porto–New York JFK and Porto–Boston nonstop.

Faro — Algarve Airport (FAO)

Faro is the Algarve’s airport, located 5km from the city of Faro and approximately 30km from the popular resort strip centred on Albufeira. Summer capacity at Faro is enormous — it processes millions of package holidaymakers each year from the UK and Germany.

The airport is not on the rail network. Taxis and shuttles to Faro city cost €12–15; to Albufeira, the main resort hub, costs €35–55 by taxi or €10–15 by shared shuttle bus.

Ryanair and easyJet dominate the UK-Faro route in summer. TUI flies from dozens of UK regional airports (Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle) directly to Faro for the package holiday market.

Funchal — Madeira Airport (FNC)

Madeira’s airport is 15km east of Funchal. It is notoriously challenging to land at — the runway is built partly over the sea on concrete pillars, and crosswind and wind shear conditions mean diversions to Porto Santo or back to Lisbon are not infrequent. Most visitors are untroubled by this, but if Madeira is heavily weather-affected, allow flexibility in your schedule.

TAP, easyJet, and Jet2 fly to Funchal from UK airports. Binter Canarias connects Madeira with the Canary Islands.

Ponta Delgada — João Paulo II Airport (PDL)

The main gateway to the Azores, PDL serves São Miguel island. SATA/Azores Airlines flies from Lisbon (1 hour 40 minutes) and connects to the other Azores islands via a regional network. TAP also flies Lisbon–Ponta Delgada. Ryanair operates seasonal European routes (London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam) to PDL.

Airlines by Route

From the United Kingdom

Airline	Main UK Airports	Portuguese Destinations
Ryanair	London Stansted, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool	Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal
easyJet	London Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh	Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal
TAP Air Portugal	London Heathrow, Gatwick	Lisbon, Porto
British Airways	London Heathrow	Lisbon
Jet2	Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Belfast	Faro, Funchal, Porto
TUI	UK regional (20+ airports)	Faro, Funchal

From the United States

TAP Air Portugal is the primary carrier for US nonstop flights to Portugal.

TAP nonstop routes to Portugal from the US (2026):

• New York JFK → Lisbon (LIS) and Porto (OPO)
• Newark (EWR) → Lisbon
• Boston → Lisbon and Porto
• Miami → Lisbon
• San Francisco → Lisbon
• Washington Dulles → Lisbon

Flight time from New York to Lisbon is approximately 7 hours eastbound (shorter than westbound due to jet stream).

United Airlines and Delta code-share on some TAP routes. Other options involve a connection through European hubs (British Airways via London, Lufthansa via Frankfurt, Air France via Paris, KLM via Amsterdam).

From Germany

Ryanair, Eurowings, Lufthansa, and TAP all fly German routes. Key routes include Frankfurt–Lisbon, Munich–Lisbon, Düsseldorf–Faro (Ryanair), and Berlin–Lisbon (Ryanair, Eurowings).

From the Netherlands

Transavia (Amsterdam–Lisbon, Amsterdam–Porto, Amsterdam–Faro) and KLM (Amsterdam–Lisbon) are the main options from the Netherlands. Ryanair flies Amsterdam Eindhoven to multiple Portuguese destinations.

From France

Air France (Paris CDG–Lisbon), Transavia France (Paris Orly–Faro, Faro–Lyon), and TAP (Paris CDG–Lisbon) cover the main French routes. Ryanair flies Paris Beauvais to Portuguese destinations.

Finding Cheap Flights

Google Flights — Explore Map

The Google Flights explore map (google.com/travel/flights) shows fares from your departure airport across all available destinations on a map. For finding the cheapest month to fly to Portugal, use the “Flexible dates” calendar view — this shows prices across a month grid so you can identify the lowest-cost departure and return dates simultaneously.

Flexible Routing

Flying to Lisbon or Porto and returning from Faro (or vice versa) sometimes reduces total costs if car hire is part of your plan. Compare open-jaw fares against in-and-out routing.

Booking Timing

• Book 8–12 weeks ahead for summer (June–August) on popular routes — fares firm quickly
• Book 4–6 weeks ahead for shoulder season (April–May, September–October)
• Last-minute fares for Portugal are rarely good in summer; the opposite in winter (January–February low season sees distressed inventory)

Budget Airline Extras

Ryanair and easyJet base fares exclude: checked luggage, seat selection, priority boarding, and on-board food. A budget Ryanair fare of £30 can become £80–90 once a 10kg cabin bag is added (if it doesn’t fit under the seat). Compare the total cost, not just the headline fare.

Getting from the Airport to Your Destination

Lisbon Airport to Centre

• Metro: Red Line to Alameda (Blue/Green line connections). 20 minutes. €1.65 (Viva Viagem card required, €0.50 deposit).
• Taxi: €15–22. Use official taxis from the rank outside arrivals.
• Uber/Bolt: €10–16. App-based, meet at the designated pickup area.
• Aerobus: shuttle to city centre hotels, €4.

Porto Airport to Centre

• Metro: Violet Line E to city centre (Trindade, 30 minutes). €2.35.
• Taxi: €20–28.
• Uber: €12–16.

Faro Airport to Algarve Resorts

• Shared shuttle: €10–15 to Albufeira (1 hour).
• Taxi: €35–55 to Albufeira.
• Car hire: available from the airport; most efficient option for exploring the Algarve.
• Train: Faro train station is 3km from the airport (local bus or taxi). Trains connect Faro to Tavira, Olhão, Lagos, and Lisboa.