New US$37.6m terminal opens at Faro Airport
Faro Airport has opened a new 93,120m² terminal, catering to the growing number of passengers passing through the airport in Portugal. The €32.8m (US$37.6m) expansion project means the airport can now handle 3,000 passengers per hour, up from 2,400, and has extended operating and public areas, passport control, baggage reclaim, and commercial areas such as retail and food courts.
The works carried out also include the adaptation of the capacity of the passenger terminal to a new system of lanes that allows 30 movements per hour, instead of 24, and the parking of 30 to 37 aircraft. A new security control area has also been constructed on the second floor.
In 2016, Faro Airport registered the highest growth of all Portuguese airports, up 18.5% with more than seven million passengers. This modernization aims to adapt to the increasing number of low-cost airlines, with Faro registering an increase of low-cost passengers and, at the same time, a decrease of passengers of other types of flights. This development has resulted in a new passenger profile – a passenger with new needs, and which spends more time in the terminal.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa; the minister of planning and infrastructure, Pedro Marques; the CEO of Vinci Concessions and chairman of Vinci Airports, Nicolas Notebaert; and the president of the executive committee of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, Carlos Lacerda.
