Humberto Delgado Airport is an international airport located 7 kilometres north-east of the historical city centre of Lisbon, Portugal. With more than 35 million passengers per year, it is the 12th-largest airport in Europe in terms of passenger volume, and the busiest single-runway airport in mainland Europe. It also carries approximately 200,000 tonnes of cargo per year.
The airport is the main hub of Portugal’s flag carrier TAP Air Portugal, including its subsidiary TAP Express, and is a hub for low-cost carriers Ryanair and easyJet. It is a focus city for Azores Airlines, euroAtlantic Airways, Hi Fly, and White Airways. It is a major hub for flights to and from South America, notably Brazil and Africa. The airport is run by the national airport operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, which in 2012 was granted under a 50-year-concession contract to the French group Vinci Airports.
Humberto Delgado Airport is one of the most congested airports of Europe, and one of the only major airports to have an approach path directly over the city which leads to noise pollution. Over 414,000 people live within a 5 km radius of the airport, the highest number among major airports in Europe. A 2024 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment showed increased risk for hypertension, diabetes, or dementia among nearby residents due to exposure to ultrafine particles left suspended in the air by planes.
Lisbon–Portela Airport has consistently ranked dismally in customer satisfaction, with AirHelp polling it sixth from the last amongst 239 airports in the world in 2024. Planning of the construction of a new airport elsewhere started in the mid-1960s, when it was recognised Portela had virtually impossible prospects of expansion. However, in the following half century and 5 years, such plans were postponed or suspended for a myriad of reasons.
The airport is expected to be shut down after the Lisbon Luís de Camões Airport is fully operational, scheduled for 2034