Flights To Azores: All You Need to Know

This article contains all you need to know about flights to Azores: where to fly, the major airports, flight connections and the airfare deals to look out for.

Unless you are willing to embark on a Survivor-style journey by boat, the best way to reach the Azores is by air.

There are several routes from mainland Portugal, Europe and especially from United States and Canada to cater to both the ever-increasing tourists and the large azorean communities living there.

The information on this page was last updated in November 2023.

Azores flights info

Airports in Azores

Every island in Azores has a commercial airport. However, only a few airports have flights connections to mainland Portugal. And from those, only 2 are currently operating direct international flights: Ponta Delgada (PDL) and Terceira – Lajes (TER).

The strongest hub is Ponta Delgada airport (PDL), in Azores’ largest island: São Miguel.

Island	Airport code/name	Companies operating
São Miguel	PDL - João Paulo II airport (Ponta Delgada)	Azores Airlines British Airways Edelweiss Air Lufthansa Ryanair SmartWings TUI Fly TAP Portugal Transavia SATA Air Açores Swiss United
Terceira	TER - Lajes airport (Praia da Vitória)	Azores Airlines Ryanair TAP Portugal SATA Air Açores
Pico	PIX - Pico airport (Madalena)	Azores Airlines TAP Portugal SATA Air Açores
Faial	HOR - Horta airport (Horta)	SATA Air Açores Azores Airlines
São Jorge	SJZ - São Jorge airport (Velas)	SATA Air Açores
Flores	FLW - Flores airport (Santa Cruz das Flores)	SATA Air Açores
Graciosa	GRW - Graciosa airport (Santa Cruz da Graciosa)	SATA Air Açores
Santa Maria	SMA - Santa Maria airport (Vila do Porto)	SATA Air Açores
Corvo	CVU - Corvo airport (Vila do Corvo)	SATA Air Açores

How to get from airport to center

Don’t expect great transportation possibilities. In most airports in Azores, you’ll be limited to taxis or private transfers organized by hotels or tourism agencies. In Ponta Delgada, there’s an AeroBus – ANC Aerobus – operating between the terminal and the city center.

The best way to get to the center when you land is to rent a car and start exploring the island right away.

Flights to Azores

Find below the airlines with regular connections to Azores. Note that during summertime, many other companies operate charter flights to and from Azores.

Airlines flying to Azores from United States 🇺🇸

The only airlines flying directly to Azores from United States are Azores Airlines and United. You can fly directly via Boston (BOS) or New York (JFK, EWR). The U.S. routes target not only tourists, but also the strong Azorean community living in these countries.

Airlines flying to Azores from Canada 🇨🇦

There is a huge Azorean community living in Canada too, but for now the only airline flying directly to Azores from Canada is Azores Airlines. The regional airline connects Ponta Delgada (PDL) and Terceira (TER) airports to both Toronto and Montreal.

Airlines flying to Azores from mainland Europe 🇪🇺

You can fly DIRECT to Azores from several destinations in Europe in an increasing number of airlines. The majority of this routes only operate in summer months though.

Cape Verde 🇨🇻: Praia (RAI) with Azores Airlines
Czechia 🇨🇿: Prague (PRH) with SmartWings
France 🇫🇷: Paris (CDG) with Azores Airlines
Germany 🇩🇪: Frankfurt (FRA) with Azores Airlines and Lufthansa and Nuremberg (NUE) with Ryanair
Netherlands 🇳🇱: Amsterdam (AMS) with Transavia and TUI Fly
Portugal 🇵🇹: Lisbon (LIS), Porto (OPO), Funchal (FNC) with Azores Airlines, TAP Portugal, and Ryanair.
Spain 🇪🇸: Bilbao (BIO) and Barcelona (BCN) with Azores Airlines, Las Palmas (LPA) with Binter, and Madrid (MAD) with Iberia
Switzerland 🇨🇭: Geneva (GVA) with Swiss and Zurich (ZRH) with Edelweiss Air
United Kingdom 🇬🇧: London Stansted (STN) with Ryanair and London Heathrow (LHR) with British Airways

Apart from the above, ad-hoc charter flights sometimes operate for a few weeks during summer. In the past, there were direct flights from Ponta Delgada (PDL) to places like Tel-Aviv, Brussels, or Dusseldorf.

Flight routes from each island of Azores

The vast majority of international flight connections to Azores are made from Ponta Delgada airport, in São Miguel.

The remaining islands are still decently connected to each other and have frequent connections to mainland Portugal.

São Miguel (PDL): apart from flights to almost all islands in Azores, has got several daily connections to Porto (OPO) and Lisbon (LIS), as well as international flights to the United States, Spain, Cape Verde, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, and more european countries.
Terceira (TER): daily connections to Porto and Lisbon, other Azores islands, as well as international flights to the United States and Canada.
Pico (PIX): direct flights to Terceira, São Miguel and Lisbon.
Faial (HOR): direct flights to Flores, Corvo, Terceira, São Miguel and Lisbon.
São Jorge (SJZ): direct flights to Terceira and São Miguel.
Flores (FLW): direct flights to Corvo, Terceira, Faial and São Miguel.
Graciosa (GRW) – direct flights to Terceira.
Santa Maria (SMA) – direct flights to São Miguel.
Corvo (CVU) – direct flights to Flores, Terceira, and Faial.

Inter-Island Flights in Azores

flights to Azores portugal - inter island connections — Map of flight connections in Azores. Source: SATA

If you are looking to do a bit of island-hopping, you can connect with SATA Air Açores, the regional carrier which has flights to all the other islands. The schedules vary throughout the year and are increased in summertime due to the influx of visitors.

These inter-island flights are usually short – 1 hour and 15 minutes maximum – but unfortunately can be quite costly. Another option is taking the Atlântico Line ferry boat, check my guide on how to get around in Azores.

Flight + Hotel Vacation Deals

I usually don’t use travel agencies to book holidays. I have to make an exception for Azores Getaways because I really think they have some pretty good prices on flight + hotel Azores packages.

These are particularly advantageous if you are flying from the United States and don’t have much time to plan your holidays. They offer deals from many cities like New York and Boston, flying mainly to Terceira and São Miguel islands. But a great thing is that you can customize your packages by adding one or two islands to your itinerary. Give them a try!