Porto airport passenger numbers in 2021 less than half those of 2019

The Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, which serves Porto and Galicia, in 2021 saw less than half the passengers carried in 2019, according to 2021 data released by Vinci.

According to the French concessionaire that operates national airports via ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, Porto airport carried 5.842 million passengers in 2021, which compares with 13.105 million in 2019.

Last year’s figure represents about 44.5% of that of 2019, the year immediately before the pandemic, meaning that not even another full year like 2021 would be enough to reach 2019 levels.

Even so, compared to 2020, the year with the greatest impact of the pandemic, Porto airport grew from 4.443 million passengers to 5.842, an increase of 32%.

As for the number of flights handled, last year it was 51,839, an increase of 23% compared to the 41,983 recorded in 2020, but well below the 96,537 of 2019.

Porto airport also continues to lead, prominently, passenger transport in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, when comparing the figures with the three Galician airports (Santiago de Compostela, Coruña and Vigo), in Spain.

In 2021 the three Galician airports together carried 2.798 million passengers, according to data from the Spanish operator AENA, a figure that does not reach half of the 5.842 that Porto saw.

Rosalía de Castro airport, in Santiago de Compostela, carried 1.653 million passengers, A Coruña airport carried 595,000 and Peinador airport, in Vigo, carried 549,000 passengers.

Last year’s figures follow the pre-pandemic trend, as in 2019 Porto airport also far outperformed its Galician ‘neighbours’.

In the pre-pandemic year, Santiago de Compostela, Coruña and Vigo together recorded 5.269 million passengers, also less than half the 13.105 million recorded by Sá Carneiro in 2019.