The Azores recorded around 181,000 passengers arriving at airports in October, 1.1% less than in the same period last year, according to data released by the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).

“In October 2025, 181,850 passengers landed at airports in the Azores, a decrease of 1.1% compared to the same month last year,” reads the report on air passenger traffic, published on the SREA website. This is the second consecutive month in which the Azores has recorded a year-on-year decline in the number of air passengers, following a 0.4% decline in September.

Since 2022, the Azores have broken records every year in the number of passengers arriving by air. In 2024 alone, around 2.3 million people passed through the region’s airports, 8.3% more than in 2023. The figures already known indicate that the archipelago may break another record in 2025.

Between January and October this year, around 2.1 million passengers landed at airports in the Azores, 60,000 (2.9%) more than in the same period in 2024.

Of the more than 181,000 passengers who landed in October, the majority (45.4%) came from flights from mainland Portugal and Madeira (82,648). Inter-island flights carried 78,371 passengers (43.1%), and international flights carried 20,831 passengers (11.5%).

Only passengers traveling within the Azores recorded an increase (4.2%) compared to October 2024.

The number of travelers from mainland Portugal and Madeira fell by 3.6%, while international flight passengers fell by 9.2%. Of the nine islands of the Azores, only four showed an increase in the number of arrivals in October. The highest growth occurred in Pico (11.7%), followed by Santa Maria (6.5%), Graciosa (5.7%), and Flores (2.8%). In contrast, Faial (-5.9%), Corvo (-2.7%), São Miguel (-2.5%), São Jorge (-1.2%), and Terceira (-0.1%) showed a year-on-year decrease.

The island of São Miguel accounted for 44% of arrivals recorded in the Azores this month, with 108,798 passengers, followed by the islands of Terceira, with 38,096 passengers (15.4%), Faial, with 10,446 (4.2%), and Pico, with 8,853 (3.6%).

The number of passengers boarding flights at Azores airports reached 193,235 in October, a slight year-on-year increase (less than 0.1%).

In this case, too, there were more departures on flights to the mainland and Madeira (89,244), but the decrease was 0.1%. Inter-island flights carried 78,478 passengers (up 3.9%) and international flights carried 25,513 passengers (down 10%).

In Diário Insulare-José Lourenço-director

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.