Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport
Faro · Portugal · Europe/Lisbon
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Airport HistoryEst. 1965
Faro Airport opened in July 1965 as the main gateway to Portugal's Algarve coast and has grown in step with the region's mass tourism industry, expanding its terminal in 1989 and 2001 and undergoing a major 2010–2013 modernization that lifted capacity from 6 to 8 million passengers a year. Operated by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal since 1998, it was formally renamed Faro–Gago Coutinho International Airport in 2022 alongside a new solar power plant, and surpassed 10 million annual passengers for the first time in 2025.
Faro Airport opens in July 1965, built during the 1960s to serve as the main air gateway to the Algarve.
A new passenger terminal is completed, a major infrastructure upgrade as Algarve tourism traffic grows through the 1980s.
Operation of the airport is conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998 under government decree 404/98.
The terminal undergoes its second major expansion to keep pace with rising passenger volumes; by 2008 the airport is handling 5.4 million passengers and around 40,000 aircraft movements a year.
A two-phase modernization (2010–2011 airfield and security works, 2011–2013 terminal renovation and ground-access improvements) raises annual capacity from 6 to 8 million passengers.
The airport is officially renamed Faro–Gago Coutinho International Airport in September 2022, honoring Portuguese aviator Gago Coutinho, and commissions a 3 MW solar power plant.
The airport surpasses 10 million annual passengers for the first time in its history.
General encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, ANA official history). The 2022 renaming is relatively recent and some public references and airline booking systems still use the older 'Faro Airport' name only, without the 'Gago Coutinho' addition.