“The data shows that in 2023, all EU countries recorded an increase in the number of passengers transported by air compared to 2022,” says the Eurostat statement accompanying the figures.

In 2023, the countries that recorded the greatest growth in the number of passengers carried were Malta (33.3%), Slovenia (30.9%) and the Czech Republic (29.4%), with Portugal's growth reaching 19.4 %, in line with the European average, which was 19.3%.

The most modest growth in terms of passengers transported over the past year was in Estonia (+7.9%), Greece (+9.6%) and Lithuania (+12.3%), Eurostat also says.

Lisbon was the 8th airport with the most passengers in the EU.

The Eurostat analysis also looked at EU airports and found that, last year, all airport infrastructure in the community “recorded significant increases”, which meant that there were no major changes in the ranking of the main European airports.

In this way, Paris/Charles de Gaulle Airport once again became the EU infrastructure with the highest number of passengers, with a total of 67.4 million passengers and an increase of 17.3%, followed by Amsterdam Airport/ Schiphol, with 61.9 million passengers and growth of 17.9%, and Madrid Barajas, which totaled 60.1 million passengers and increased by 20.4%.

Frankfurt/Main airports, with 59.3 million passengers and an increase of 21.5%, in addition to Barcelona/El Prat, which registered 49.8 million passengers and an increase of 20.6%, appear in the fourth and fifth positions.

Humberto Delgado Airport, in Lisbon, was in eighth place in this ranking, accounting for a total of 33.636 million passengers and an increase of 12.3% compared to the previous year.

In the case of Porto, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport appears in 25th position in this Eurostat ranking, accounting for a total of 15,183 million passengers, 13.8% more than in 2022.