Number of passengers at Azores airports has been falling for 10 months

The number of passengers arriving at airports in the Azores fell for the tenth consecutive month in October, down 8.2% from the same period last year, according to data released by the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).

Credits: Unsplash; Author: Fernando Strabuli;

“In October 2026, 166,649 passengers arrived at airports in the Azores—14,874 fewer than in the same month last year (-8.2%),” the SREA report on air passenger traffic states.

Since January, the number of passengers arriving in the Azores by air has consistently declined year on year.

Between January and October, the region recorded about 2.1 million passengers—151,768 fewer than in the same period in 2025 —a 7.2% drop.

Most travellers arriving in the region in October came from inter-island flights, totalling 75,576 (45.4%).

A total of 72,868 passengers arrived from mainland Portugal and Madeira (so-called territorial flights), accounting for 43.7% of the total, while only 18,205 passengers (10.9%) arrived on international flights.

International flights saw the largest year-on-year decline (-12.6%), followed by territorial flights (-11.8%), while inter-island flights recorded a smaller decrease (-3.2%).

Of the nine islands in the Azores, only three recorded a year-on-year increase in passenger arrivals in October: Faial (4.4%), São Jorge (3.3%), and Flores (1.1%).

Pico Island saw the most significant decline (-13%), followed by São Miguel (-11.3%), Santa Maria (-7.1%), Terceira (-4.3%), Graciosa (-2.5%), and Corvo (-1.5%).

With 96,448 passengers, São Miguel—the largest island in the archipelago—accounted for more than half (57.8%) of all arrivals in the region, followed by Terceira with 36,443 (21.9%), Faial with 10,751 (6.5%), and Pico with 7,702 (4.6%).

As for passengers departing from airports in the Azores, the total reached 178,073 in October—down 14,925 (7.7%) from the same month the previous year.

In this category, the decline was most pronounced for flights to the Portuguese mainland (-11.3%), which totalled 79,136 passengers.

International flights fell 9.2%, with 23,163 departures, while inter-island flights fell 3.2%, with 75,774 departures.

At the end of March, the low-cost airline Ryanair ceased operations to the Azores; consequently, air connections between the archipelago and mainland Portugal are now provided exclusively by TAP and Azores Airlines.