Oporto Airport - Aeroporto Francisco Sá-Carneiro

4 July 2011

Oporto Airport lies about 11km north of the city and is connected to it by a Metro line of STCP, the city's public transport operator. Formerly known as Pedras Rubras, the nearest town to the airport, it was opened in 1943 but was renamed after the former Portuguese prime-minister Francisco Sá-Carneiro, who hailed from Oporto. Ironically for an airport bearing his name, Sá-Carneiro sadly died in an air crash in December, 1980, just outside Lisbon, whilst heading for Pedras Rubras airport in a light aircraft. It was only after this accident that the airport got its new name.

Its runway is 11,417 feet long and the airport is sited 228 feet above sea level.

Right: A TAP Airbus is seen behind a SATA flight on its way to the Açores at Oporto airport in 2011.

Services to Britain currently include those operated by Ryanair (Liverpool, London Stansted and Birmingham), easyJet (London Gatwick) and TAP Air Portugal (London Heathrow and Gatwick). Indeed both Ryanair and easyJet also operate a host of services from Oporto to other European cities.

The airport has been greatly upgraded in recent years and has just reached throughput of five million passengers a year. It has plenty of airy seating space and good eating facilities which are not over priced by airport standards; the Cais da Ribeira eatery in the departure lounge area being a good example of this.

The Metro station is at the lower level of the airport building and services take around half an hour to reach Trindade station in central Oporto. Automated ticket machines are available and there is usually someone in uniform on hand to help out with any ticketing problems.

Oporto Heliport

Oporto has a riverside heliport situated close to the STCP Tram Museum at Massarelos.

Compiled by John Laidlar

Oporto Airport Aeroport de Pedras Rubras

Compiled by John Laidlar