Getting to São Miguel: flights to Ponta Delgada, the airport and onward islands

Most trips to the Azores start on São Miguel, because Ponta Delgada has the archipelago's main airport. The choice of who to fly with got smaller in 2026: Ryanair left the islands in March, and since April only TAP and Azores Airlines fly between the Azores and mainland Portugal. This guide covers who flies to São Miguel now, what to expect at the airport, and how to carry on to another island.

Airline schedules change every season. Everything below was checked in October 2026, so check your own dates before you book.

From mainland Portugal, both TAP and Azores Airlines (part of the regional SATA group) fly from Lisbon. Azores Airlines also flies from Porto, and added flights on both the Lisbon and the Porto route for summer 2026. Visit Azores puts the flight at about two hours from Lisbon or Porto. Azores Airlines also lists Faro and Funchal among its routes, so you can combine the Azores with Madeira.

Elsewhere in Europe, Azores Airlines kept its Paris, Barcelona and Frankfurt flights for summer 2026 and dropped Milan and Bilbao. Several European airlines add direct seasonal flights to Ponta Delgada in summer. Which cities are served changes from year to year, so search for a direct flight from your nearest hub before you plan a change in Lisbon.

Across the Atlantic, Azores Airlines flies to Boston, New York, Toronto and Montreal, with more than 50 flights a week across those four cities in summer 2026. Visit Azores puts the flight from the United States at under six hours. If you are flying on between North America and Europe with Azores Airlines, its Azores Stopover lets you break the journey in the islands for up to seven days, outbound, on the way back or both.

Ryanair flew São Miguel and Terceira to Lisbon and Porto until its last flight on 28 March 2026. It blamed airport charges and the EU's carbon charge on flights within Europe, and its chief executive said it would not come back unless that charge was abolished. easyJet flew to the Azores from 2015 to 2017 and said in November 2025 that it has no plans to return.

From April to August 2026 the Azores airports landed 1,206,055 passengers, 7.9% fewer than in the same months of 2025, according to the regional statistics office. For visitors that means fewer seats on the mainland routes and no low-cost carrier to bring fares down. If your dates are fixed, especially in July and August, book early.

The airport is João Paulo II, code PDL. It opened in 1969 and handled about 3.3 million passengers in 2024. It sits just west of Ponta Delgada, about 3 km from the centre by road, so the transfer is short whichever way you do it:

• by taxi, a ride of a few minutes
• by the ANC Aerobus, a minibus shuttle between the airport and the city centre; check its current fare and hours, because we could not confirm them from an official source
• by hire car, collected at the airport; our guide to driving on São Miguel covers car hire, roads and fuel

If you are not hiring a car, our guide to getting around São Miguel without a car has the buses from Ponta Delgada.

Set your watch back on arrival. The Azores are one hour behind Lisbon all year, in winter and in summer.

Inter-island flights are run by SATA Air Açores, whose group is based in Ponta Delgada. The short hop to Santa Maria takes about 30 minutes. Corvo and some other small islands usually mean a change of plane, so book the whole route in one ticket where you can.

The cheap Azores Fare you may read about, €61 return in 2026, is only for people who are tax residents of the Azores. Visitors pay the normal fare, so price the onward flight together with the one that brings you to the islands.

There is no public passenger ferry from São Miguel. The Atlânticoline timetable for October 2026 to September 2027 lists routes only between the central islands (Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira and Graciosa) and between Flores and Corvo. To reach those ferries from São Miguel, fly first.

The one sea link in 2026 was the Isabel C, a cargo ship that took up to 16 passengers between Ponta Delgada and Vila do Porto on Santa Maria from 2 July to 1 October 2026. The crossing took about 5 hours 20 minutes and a one-way ticket cost €25 to €28. Check in spring whether it runs again in 2027; our Santa Maria planning guide has the details.

• Fly into Ponta Delgada and stay a few nights before moving on. São Miguel is the largest island, and we would give it at least three or four days; our guide on where to stay on São Miguel compares the bases.
• If you visit two islands, look at flying home from the second one. Terceira, for one, has its own flights to Lisbon, and Azores Airlines added more of them for summer 2026. It can save you a flight back to São Miguel.
• Leave a spare day before an international flight home if you are on a small island. Inter-island flights are sometimes delayed or cancelled by weather, especially in winter.

Which airlines fly to São Miguel in 2026? From mainland Portugal, only TAP and Azores Airlines since Ryanair left in March 2026. Azores Airlines also flies from North America and from several European cities, and other European airlines add seasonal direct flights in summer.

How far is Ponta Delgada airport from the city? About 3 km by road. A taxi takes a few minutes, and the ANC Aerobus minibus runs between the airport and the centre.

Is there a ferry from São Miguel to the other islands? No public ferry. Atlânticoline sails only between the central islands and between Flores and Corvo. In summer 2026 a cargo ship took a few passengers to Santa Maria; otherwise you fly with SATA Air Açores.

Can tourists use the €60 Azores Fare? No. The Azores Fare, €61 return in 2026, is for tax residents of the Azores. Visitors pay the normal fare.

• Azores Airlines: IATA summer operation 2026
• Azores Airlines: Azores Stopover
• Azores Airlines: Azores Fare
• Visit Azores: plan your visit
• Atlânticoline: timetable
• Observador: the Azores six months after Ryanair left (28 September 2026)