How do you get to Portugal by air?
Portugal has 3 major international airports:
- Lisbon – the main one
- Porto – in the north
- Faro – in the Algarve in the south
And 2 more airports of tourist importance on the islands:
- In Funchal on Madeira Island
- In Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
- Portugal has convenient direct flights from Tel Aviv to Lisbon that take about 5 and a half hours.
- The airlines that fly regularly are usually El Al and Portugal's TAP, and sometimes there are also charter flights to Porto, the capital of the north, mainly in summer.
- To save money, you can travel with a connection, which will usually be in Madrid or Milan (both to Porto and to Lisbon). But this is not always worthwhile, especially if you are coming for only a few days. In addition, it is worth trying to book the tickets as early as possible.
- To get to Portugal's islands, you usually take a flight to Lisbon, and from there a domestic flight to Madeira Island or the Azores.
Map of airports in Portugal
Portugal's main airports
Lisbon Airport | Aeroporto Humberto Delgado
Lisbon International Airport – code LIS – is the main gateway to Portugal. Landing at Lisbon Airport is suitable for a trip to any destination in Portugal. First, because Lisbon is relatively central in Portugal, and second, because from it there are transportation options and domestic flights to almost anywhere in the country, including the islands.
Humberto Delgado International Airport is the largest airport in the country (also called – Aeroporto Internacional de Lisboa). It is located within the Lisbon metropolitan area, about seven kilometers north of the old city center.
The airport has two terminals:
– Terminal 1, which serves the flights of regular airlines. First and foremost TAP (TAP-Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) – the Portuguese national airline, as well as regular flights by other airlines including El Al's direct flights from Ben Gurion Airport.
– Terminal 2 mainly serves low-cost flights from across Europe.
It is easy to get from the airport to the city because it is well connected to the city center by the red metro line.
Search for flights to Lisbon and the rest of Portugal…
Porto Airport | Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport
Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (code OPO) is the international airport of Porto and Northern Portugal (also called Aeroporto do Porto).
The airport is suitable for landing if you want to travel only in Porto and other destinations in northern Portugal.
It is the second largest airport in Portugal. In general, the airport mainly serves low-cost flights, and a significant part of its activity is during the tourist season. In summer, there may also be direct charter flights from Israel to Porto.
Porto Airport is well connected to the city center. Travel time by car from the airport to the city center is only around twenty minutes. By metro, the trip takes about 45 minutes.
Search for flights to Porto and the rest of Portugal…
Faro Airport in the south | Aeroporto Gago Coutinho
The airport named after Portuguese aviation pioneer Gago Coutinho (code FAO) channels tourist traffic to the sunny beaches of southern Portugal.
Faro in general is the gateway to the deep south of Portugal – the Algarve region. Its airport (also called – Aeroporto di Faro), established in the 1960s, is what made it possible to turn the Algarve from an area whose economy was based on fishing and agriculture into Portugal's beach tourism hub.
The airport is located west of the city and very close to it – about a ten-minute drive. However, most people landing at Faro Airport do not go directly to the city itself but rather to the hundreds of resorts along the southern coast of the Algarve.
There are no flights from Israel to Faro, but from many airports in northern Europe and England there are many flights, mainly by low-cost airlines. The airport also serves domestic flights within Portugal, mainly to Lisbon and Porto.
Airports on Portugal's islands
Madeira – Cristiano Ronaldo Airport | Aeroporto da Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo
Yes, the airport is named after the legendary footballer Ronaldo! Who was born in a suburb of Funchal, the capital of Madeira.
Cristiano Ronaldo Airport is the only airport on the island (code FNC). Therefore, everyone flying to Madeira will pass through it.
The airport is located in a suburb of Funchal – Santa Cruz and is about a twenty-five-minute drive from the city center.
There are several daily flights to Madeira from Lisbon. The flight from Lisbon to Madeira takes an hour and a half. There are also several daily flights from Porto to Madeira, but fewer.
In addition, there are also many flights to Madeira from cities in northern Europe and England, mainly by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair. Therefore, it is possible to travel from Israel to Madeira without passing through mainland Portugal, but rather with a connection in Germany, the Netherlands, or France, for example.
The Azores – Ponta Delgada Airport | Aeroporto de Ponta Delgada
The main airport in the Azores is on the largest and most populated island – São Miguel (Ilha de São Miguel).
The airport (code PDL) is located west of the capital Ponta Delgada, which is the gateway to São Miguel Island and to the Azores in general.
There are several daily flights from Lisbon to the airport named after João Paulo II (Aeroporto João Paulo II). One of the interesting things about the Azores is that there are also direct flights from the United States and Canada, whose east coast is 4.5 – 5 hours by flight from the islands in the heart of the Atlantic. In North America there are large communities of islanders and their descendants who emigrated to the New World over the years.
Each of the nine islands in the archipelago has a small airport used for flights between the islands themselves, which stretch across 600 kilometers in the heart of the Atlantic.
Tips for booking a flight ticket to Portugal?
- Almost always, booking a flight in advance will save you money.
- Especially if מדובר במשפחה שנוסעת יחד. Then any savings, even of just a few dozen dollars per ticket, will multiply by the number of passengers and can easily amount to savings of hundreds of dollars.
- So how far in advance should you book tickets to Portugal?
- Anyone who wants to fly in season (summer) or when there are other holidays in Israel (festivals, Passover) must book flight tickets as far in advance as possible.
- Anyone who wants a precise answer: according to what we see – half a year or more before the travel date, prices will usually be the most attractive.
- It is true that sometimes last-minute flight prices can go down, but over the years we have seen that this is only true really at the very last moment.
- Anyone concerned that long-term plans may change should get travel insurance that includes cancellation/changes.
- In any case, it is always advisable to get such insurance and to do so immediately after purchasing the flight tickets.
Domestic flights in Portugal
Portugal is not a large country, but the distances from south to north are still relatively great. Therefore, many times it will be worthwhile and convenient to fly within Portugal.
The route between Lisbon and Porto is the busiest domestic flight route in Portugal. There are close to 20 daily flights between Portugal's two largest cities. Prices are usually very affordable – just a few dozen euros each way. Flight duration is a little less than an hour.
Domestic flights also include flights to the Azores and the wonderful island of Madeira. There are many daily flights to them, mainly from Lisbon but also from Porto.
In addition, there is a small company called Seven Air (Seven Air) that flies passengers in small propeller planes. It operates between some of the small towns in Portugal. The service is very limited, and these flights can be regarded as an attraction. Cascais, near Lisbon, is the main destination where the company operates. Besides Cascais, the company flies between the cities of Bragança and Vila Real in the far north, the small city of Viseu in the center, and Portimão in the south.
