Air arrivals in the Azores fall for a tenth month in a row
Azores GuideFaial, São Jorge and Flores were the only islands with more arrivals in October. Pico and São Miguel had the steepest falls, Regional Statistics Service figures show.
In October 2026, 166,649 passengers landed at airports in the Azores, 14,874 fewer than a year earlier, a fall of 8.2%, according to figures from the Regional Statistics Service (SREA). Arrivals by air have fallen year on year every month since January.
From January to October the region counted about 2.1 million arriving passengers, 151,768 fewer than in the same period of 2025, a fall of 7.2%.
In October, 75,576 arrivals (45.4%) came on inter-island flights, 72,868 (43.7%) on flights from mainland Portugal and Madeira, and 18,205 (10.9%) on international flights. International arrivals fell 12.6%, arrivals from the mainland and Madeira 11.8% and inter-island arrivals 3.2%.
Only Faial (4.4%), São Jorge (3.3%) and Flores (1.1%) had more arrivals than in October 2025. Pico had the largest fall, 13%, followed by São Miguel (11.3%), Santa Maria (7.1%), Terceira (4.3%), Graciosa (2.5%) and Corvo (1.5%). São Miguel took 96,448 arrivals (57.8%), Terceira 36,443 (21.9%), Faial 10,751 (6.5%) and Pico 7,702 (4.6%).
Departures from Azores airports totalled 178,073 in October, 14,925 fewer (7.7%) than a year earlier. Departures to the mainland and Madeira fell 11.3% to 79,136, international departures 9.2% to 23,163 and inter-island departures 3.2% to 75,774.
According to Rádio Atlântida, Ryanair stopped flying to the Azores at the end of March, and flights to mainland Portugal have since been run only by TAP and Azores Airlines, of the SATA group.
Last month this site reported that Azores overnight stays fall for a twelfth month running in September.
Sources
Azores Guide
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