Faro airport undergoes overhaul

Photo: Andy2Boyz

Faro Airport is undergoing a major overhaul that will increase its capacity by 25 per cent.

Work on the project will begin this autumn, officials confirmed to The Portugal News last week, with "little, if any disruption expected" until it is finished next year - just in time for the holiday season.

The expansion and re-modelling of the terminal was signed by the Chairman of VINCI Airports, Nicholas Notebaert, the Chairman of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, Jorge Ponce de Leão, and the Director of Faro Airport, Alberto Mota Borges. The move is part of an agreement made during the privatisation of ANA.

Scaffolding will go up around the airport in September ahead of construction work in October. The 32.8 million-euro work will boost the terminal area from 81,200 m2 to 93,120 m2, allowing for more retail space as well as increasing passport control and security. It will increase capacity during peak times from 2,400 passengers an hour to 3,000 passengers an hour.

The refurbishment will further cement the Algarve's popularity as a holiday destination, with low-cost airlines dominating traffic through the airport - Ryanair accounts for 28 per cent of flights - a trend that also fuels interest in the area's property market. Indeed, the pound's recent eight-year high against the euro has made Portugal, Spain and other countries highly attractive to similarly bargain-hunting property buyers.