Faro Airport is one of the eight airports managed by ANA Group, a solid Portuguese business group responsible for the management of airports in mainland Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Faro and the Beja civilian terminal); in the Azores (Ponta Delgada, Horta, Flores and Santa Maria); and Madeira (Madeira and Porto Santo) autonomous regions.
Faro Airport, located in the Algarve, south-west Europe, provides access to a growing market of airlines and destinations, and is connected to major European destinations.
Famous for providing access to the sustained leisure travel market of the Algarve, Faro Airport is also the gateway to the coastal city of Huelva, another important Spanish tourist destination. With an impressive 300km of coastline, 120,000 hotel beds and 47 golf courses, second-home sites are also within a 90 minute drive of Faro city. Here, visitors can enjoy average year-round temperatures of 18°C (12°C in winter and 30°C in summer) and 3,300 hours of sunshine a year.
Dynamism in flow
Within 50 years of operation, Faro Airport completed two major developments, the opening of the passenger terminal building in 1989 and its enlargement in 2001. In 2009, the airport began is third major development project. Over the past few years, Faro Airport has shown a steady increase of passenger traffic and has an annual passenger throughput of more than five million with a capacity for six million pax/year.
Faro Airport terminal is simple, friendly and highly efficient, and was designed to deliver first-class operational facilities to airlines and passengers. Faro Airport staff and handling partners ensure efficient ground services, resulting in short turnaround times and effective passenger processing. The average turnaround time at Faro Airport in 2013 was 52 minutes.
Commitment to the cause
With a purely European route structure, Faro Airport receives passengers from more than 25 different countries and over 85 cities; however, approximately 84% of the total demand of Faro passengers is concentrated on four markets – the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. Faro Airport provides access to a growing market, which is why 27 scheduled airlines (of which ten are low-cost carriers) and 71 charter airlines fly from Faro Airport to more than 64 destinations in Europe. In 2013, the year-round average load factor at Faro Airport was 85%. Faro Airport ensures a deep partnership with airlines. Scheduled low-cost carriers currently represent Faro Airport’s main customer segment, providing air transportation services at low cost to a number of European destinations in the summer, as well as in the winter.
New challenges
Faced with a new competitive environment, the airport’s global strategy is to develop its infrastructure alongside the development of marketing and customer service.
Faro Airport’s marketing strategy is based on a proactive and dynamic attitude towards airlines, business partners and major stakeholders seeking new business development opportunities, efficiently promoting the development of air traffic and ensuring a high service standard in line with the increasing requirements of customers. The route-development process is focused on the continuous exchange of information with clients, airports, tour operators, service partners and tourism stakeholders, on the constant analysis of route network, and in a continual update and circulation of information to key players – connections, airline performance, market performance and passenger profiles.
Safety first
Certified by ISO 9001:2000 since 2003, Faro Airport has developed a new business process management system in order to provide the best service to its clients in five international management standards.
Faro Airport is also committed to provide the highest safety and security standards for passengers, staff, airport operators and visitors. Procedures currently in force are being continuously evaluated in order to refine the processes capable of delivering improved security and safety services.
Creating an attractive marketing-support system for new operations and unserved markets by providing airlines with professional route development analysis, local marketing and media support, key account management and a close working relationship with the Algarve Tourism Board in the promotion of route development, is the main goal of the Faro Airport marketing team.