Faro Airport

Faro Airport Aeroporto Internacional de Faro
IATA: FAO ICAO: LPFR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, S.A.
Operator	ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Serves	Faro, Portugal
Hub for	TAP Portugal, Ryanair
Elevation AMSL	7 m / 23 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 (2016)
Aircraft Movements 53,427 Passengers 7,632,857
Sources: ANA

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^[1] of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965.^[2] A total of 6.4 million passengers used Faro airport in 2015. The airport became a hub for the first time in March 2010, when Ryanair decided to base seven of its aircraft there.^[3] It gets very busy during the summer months, namely from March to October, to the extent that it becomes a slot coordinated airport.^[4]

Facilities

Faro Airport is capable of handling six million passengers a year. There are 22 stands of which 16 are remote, with 60 check-in desks and 36 boarding gates.^[4]

Since its opening in 1966 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.

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.^[5]

Airlines and destinations

Check-in area

The forecourt of the arrivals hall

Terminal building

Statistics

Busiest routes from Faro Airport^{[12] [13]}

Rank	Country	City	Passengers (2011)	Passengers (2010)	Change	Carriers
1	United Kingdom	London	1,187,220	1,147,624	03.5%	British Airways, BA CityFlyer, EasyJet, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways
2	United Kingdom	Manchester	341,384	281,133	021.4%	BA CityFlyer, Jet2.com, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways
3	Ireland	Dublin	298,532	311,118	04.0%	Aer Lingus ,Luxair, Ryanair, Thomson Airways
4	Netherlands	Amsterdam	228,683	199,288	014.8%	TUI Airlines Netherlands, Transavia
5	United Kingdom	Liverpool	224,902	176,362	027.5%	EasyJet, Ryanair
6	United Kingdom	Bristol	212,283	170,105	024.8%	EasyJet, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines
7	United Kingdom	Birmingham	210,805	198,175	06.4%	Monarch Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways
8	Portugal	Lisbon	185,491	176,629	05.0%	TAP Portugal
9	United Kingdom	Nottingham	171,746	147,142	017.6%
10	United Kingdom	Glasgow	166,828	128,454	029.9%	EasyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways
11	United Kingdom	Leeds/Bradford	128,586	116,683	010.2%	Jet2.com, Ryanair, Monarch Airlines
12	Belgium	Brussels	126,660	123,837	02.3%	Brussels Airlines, Jetairfly, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium
13	United Kingdom	Belfast-International	126,454	145,978	013.4%	Aer Lingus, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Thomson Airways
14	Germany	Düsseldorf	124,518	142,787	012.8%	Air Berlin, TUIfly
15	Portugal	Porto	118,688	101,933	016.4%	Ryanair
16	France	Paris	117.044	82.785	041.4%	EasyJet, Aigle Azur
17	United Kingdom	Newcastle	116.080	95.465	021.6%	Easyjet, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
18	Germany	Frankfurt	114.397	114.351	0.0%	Lufthansa, TUIfly
19	Netherlands	Rotterdam	107.599	100.040	07.6%	Transavia
20	Netherlands	Eindhoven	105.805	76.064	039.1%	Ryanair, Transavia

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 closet 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.^[14]

Kiss and Fly is the name for a form of fast parking at the airport. You can drive to the airport to pick up or drop someone off free of charge for up to ten minutes. To drop off passengers, you can stop at the departures curbside and to pick up passengers, you enter the P2 Car Park.^[15]

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 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away. There is no official shuttle between the airport and the railway station, however a taxi journey is estimated to take about 10 mins to complete.

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 to the phone inside.

Car Rentals

There are quite a few car rental companies that can provide car hire service from the Airport. These companies are mainly located at "Parking P4 - Car Hire". Car hire can also be arranged from within the airport.

Accolades

In 2012 Airports Council International gave Faro Airport the title of Best Improvement in Europe.^[16]

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.^[17]
• On 29 December 2009, the terminal building flooded due to severe weather and leaks in the roof. This caused many problems inside the terminal; no flights were cancelled, although some passengers were unable to check in due to the flooding.
• On 24 October 2011, an overnight storm had collapsed portions of terminal roofs and blown out most windows in the control tower. Four people were slightly injured, and one severely.^[18]

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