Aeroporto Internacional de Faro (FAO / LPFR), also known as Algarve Airport, is located 4 km southwest of the city of Faro in Portugal. It is the only airport for all tourist and vacation places at the beautiful Algarve coast. The airport opened in 1965. The new passenger terminal building was opened in 1989, the latest modernisation was in 2001.

The airport can be easily reached by car using the N125-10, which is a 4-lanes road. Bus service is offered from Faro city centre bus station (lines 14 and 16). Best way to move around is to use one of the numerous car rentals at the airport.

A total of 8.7 million passengers used Faro airport in 2017. It gets very busy during the summer months. FAO is served by some well-known low-cost and charter carriers mainly from UK and Ireland. But also charter carriers from all over Europe can be seen, as well as TAP. Main airlines are Ryanair, Easyjet and Jet2. Additionally Aer Lingus, Condor, Corendon, Edelweiss, Eurowings,  Lufthansa, Luxair, Norwegian, Transavia, TUI (BE, DE, NL, UK), Travel Service, Vueling and Wizz are visible.

You can check the flight schedule on the airport website.

Written by Marcus. Update: October 2022 – Spot 6

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
10/28	2,490m Asphalt
Terminals	One for all civil flights.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not needed, but might be helpful for positions 2 and 3.
Car/Public Transport	A car is needed, as most spots are far away from all civilisation. A rented bike or bicycle would be also sufficient.
Restrooms	No restroms close to the spots, only bushes…
Drinks/Food	Take everything with you, as you are far away from shops and restaurants. A supermarket (Pingo Doce) is located at 4-lane-street N125-10. Few expensive shops and snack bars can be found in the terminal. Some restaurants are in Faro Beach. 10-Minutes drive from the terminal is a huge shopping centre “Forum Algarve” with hypermarket and food court (typical spotters choice: McDonald’s or Burger King…).
Hotels	All around the Algarve. Many hotels and apartments are available not far from the airport.
Season	High season is from April until October with mainly nice weather. If you are from North Europe or British Islands you should take sun protection with you! In winter the airport is quiet.
Runway Usage
10/28	Due to the westerly winds during high season mainly runway 28 is in use. Only in very rare weather conditions runway 10 will be used.

	Spot #1 – Purification Plant – Approach 28
WHERE	East of the terminal close to the car rental offices a roundabout leads you to a dirt road along the airport fence. Take this dirt road to the end where the purification plant is and park your car.
WHAT	Final approach of runway 28
TIME	From early morning until approximately 9:00 am.
MISC.	Nothing around, take sun protection and breakfast with you.
FOCAL LENGTH	250 mm for A320.

	Spot #2 – Perimeter Fence – Line Up 28 and Apron
WHERE	Park your car at the same place as spot 1. Cross the small pedestrian bridge and walk along the fence to find the preferred position.
WHAT	Line up of 28 and apron movements.
TIME	Early morning until approximately 11:00 am. Apron shots might be disrupted by heat haze.
MISC.	Nothing around, take sun protection with you. There are some slightly bigger holes in the fence where a standard lense fits through (obviously manually twisted by spotters). Or take a small ladder with you to reach over the fence.
FOCAL LENGTH	50 mm for A320 in line-up, up tp 400 mm for apron shots.

	Spot #3 – Perimeter Fence – Line Up 28
WHERE	Park your car at the same place as spot 1. Cross the small pedestrian bridge and walk along the fence until you reach a small tree (approx 350 meters).
WHAT	Line up of 28
TIME	Morning until approximately noon. This position is better when the sun for line-ups at position 2 is already to far.
MISC.	Nothing around, take sun protection with you. There are some slightly bigger holes in the fence where a standard lense fits through. Or take a small ladder with you to get over the fence. Some shadow can be found at the small tree (on the right of the picture).
FOCAL LENGTH	150 mm for A320

	Spot #4 – Small hill – Final approach and line-up 28
WHERE	When coming to the airport from N125-10 take first exit at the roundabout direction “Praia de Faro” (Faro Beach). Pass the runway lights and take the 2nd exit at the next roundabout. From there take the small road along the airport fence. After the first right hand bend the asphalt road turns into a dirt road. Follow this road (fence always on left hand side) until you pass the the airport fire brigade. Turn left into an even smaller dirt road along the fence until you reach a small hill. You can park your car right there.
WHAT	Final approach and line up of 28
TIME	From noon until approximately 16:30 am. Aircrafts on the runway might be disrupted by heat haze.
MISC.	Absolutely nothing around, take sun protection, food and water with you. From the small hill you can easily take pictures above the fence.
FOCAL LENGTH	125 mm for A320

	Spot #5 – Small hill – All movements on 10/28
WHERE	Use the same direction as for spot 4. After the asphalt road turned into a dirt road just follow this road along the fence until you reach a small hill. You can park your car right there.
WHAT	All movements on runway 10/28
TIME	From noon until approximately 16:30 am
MISC.	Nothing around, not even a supermarket or McDonald’s, so take everything with you to survive some hours in the Portugese summer. From the small hill you can easily take pictures above the fence. There is a small red and white box behind the fence close to the spot which performs regular explosions. Don’t be afraid, this is only to scare off birds but not spotters.
FOCAL LENGTH	125 mm for A320

	Spot #6 – Observation Hill – Final approach 10 and vacating aircraft 28
WHERE	When coming to the airport from N125-10 take first exit at the roundabout direction “Praia de Faro” (Faro Beach). Pass the runway lights and take the 2nd exit at the next roundabout. There is a huge, new built parking area where you can leave your car. Just step up the small hill and find the preferred position.
WHAT	Final approach runway 10 and vacating aircraft of 28 on taxiway F or RG. Late take-offs on 28 are also possible.
TIME	From noon until approximately 16:30 am for 10 approach or 28 take-off. Aircrafts vacating runway 28 until 18:00 .
MISC.	A bench has been arranged for your comfort, but no shade (the tree looks quite sad but needs to grow, please offer some water to it for future spotters…). So better take sun protection with you. You can move further on the hill to find the perfect position.
FOCAL LENGTH	125 mm for A320 approaching 10, between 200 and 300 mm for aircraft vacating 28.