Porto Airport Adds 21 New Routes for Summer Including Delta's First New York Service — Passenger Traffic Hit 16.9 Million Last Year

Six Intercontinental Routes Join the Network as Northern Portugal Bets on Long-Haul Connectivity

Porto's Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport will launch 21 new routes this summer, six of them intercontinental, as the northern gateway builds on a record-breaking 2025 in which it handled 16.9 million passengers — a 6.3 per cent increase over the previous year. The expansion, announced by airport operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, pushes Porto's direct destination count past 130 and represents the most aggressive route growth programme in the airport's history.

Delta Lands in Porto

The headline addition is Delta Air Lines' new service from New York's JFK airport, launching in May. It marks the first time Delta has operated a scheduled route to Porto and gives northern Portugal its first direct link to a major US East Coast hub. The route is expected to boost both leisure tourism from the United States and business travel connected to the growing technology and investment ecosystem around Porto's Boavista corridor and the University of Porto.

Until now, TAP Air Portugal held a near-monopoly on transatlantic flights from Porto, with seasonal services to Newark and several Brazilian cities. Delta's entry introduces competition on the North Atlantic and is likely to put downward pressure on fares during the peak summer season.

Istanbul, Cape Verde, and Morocco

Turkish Airlines will increase its Porto–Istanbul service to 17 weekly flights, a rise of more than 20 per cent in movements. The Istanbul hub is a critical gateway to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and the frequency boost reflects growing demand from both Portuguese travellers and transit passengers connecting through Porto.

EasyJet is opening three new routes to Cape Verde — São Vicente, Boa Vista, and Praia — tapping into the large Cape Verdean diaspora community in the Porto metropolitan area and the growing popularity of the islands as a winter-sun destination. TAP will follow with its own regular service to Praia from June.

Ryanair is adding a new route to Rabat, Morocco, extending its network of North African connections from Porto.

European Growth

The remaining new routes fill gaps in Porto's European map. New direct services will connect the city to Sofia, Zurich, Milan Linate, Newcastle, Warsaw, Billund, Gothenburg, Prague, and Izmir, among others. Several existing routes to France and Eastern Europe will see increased frequencies.

El Al is reinforcing its Tel Aviv service, although the route's future will depend on the evolving security situation in the Middle East and the ongoing disruption to overfly rights across parts of the region.

Infrastructure to Match

ANA has completed a EUR 50 million runway modernisation programme and is investing in terminal upgrades, including expanded check-in areas, faster security processing, express lanes, a dedicated channel for passengers with reduced mobility and families, and lounge refurbishments. The investments are designed to ensure the terminal can handle the projected passenger growth without the bottlenecks that plagued the airport during the 2024 summer peak.

Strategic Positioning

ANA CEO Thierry Ligonnière said the expansion "places the North region closer to the world and confirms its strategic positioning in the Iberian Peninsula." The airport is increasingly seen as a viable alternative to Lisbon for international carriers, with lower slot congestion, a modern terminal, and a catchment area that extends into Galicia in northern Spain.

For northern Portugal's tourism and export economy, the bet is straightforward: more direct flights mean more visitors, more trade, and less dependence on Lisbon as the country's sole international gateway.

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