Lisbon Portela Airport

About Lisbon Portela Airport

Lisbon Portela (LIS), formally Humberto Delgado Airport, is Portugal’s largest and busiest airport, with annual passenger traffic of roughly 33 million. The airport sits only 7 km north of the historic centre, an unusually short distance for a European capital city airport, which makes its transfer times among the quickest on the continent. The site is bordered by the Segunda Circular ring road on the south and the A1 motorway on the east.

Two terminals share a single airfield. Terminal 1 handles all arrivals plus most departures, including long-haul, TAP Portugal services and Schengen flights. Terminal 2, around 1 km from T1, handles departures only for low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and outbound easyJet, with a free shuttle bus linking the two terminals every 10 to 15 minutes.

Getting from Lisbon Portela to Lisbon

A pre-booked private transfer is the fastest door-to-door option for most travellers, with a 15 to 25 minute run via the Segunda Circular and either Avenida Almirante Reis or Avenida da Liberdade depending on hotel location. The Metro Red Line runs from the airport to Saldanha and São Sebastião in 25 to 35 minutes for travellers without heavy luggage, with single tickets at EUR 1.80. Aerobus services to the Baixa, Cais do Sodré and Sete Rios cost around EUR 4 and take 25 to 45 minutes depending on traffic.

For late evening flights, families, or hotels in steep Alfama and Bairro Alto where cobbled lanes complicate luggage walks, a pre-booked transfer is usually the smoothest option.

Terminals and pickup points

Pre-booked transfer pickups happen at Terminal 1, where all arrivals come in regardless of carrier. Exit baggage reclaim into the arrivals hall on the ground floor and walk to the central meeting area near the main exit doors, where the driver holds a name sign. The short-stay pickup area is a short walk outside the terminal.

For departures from Terminal 2 (most Ryanair and outbound easyJet flights), drop-off is at the kerbside on the departures level of T2, on the western side of the airfield, and the driver confirms which terminal applies based on the airline at booking.

Common transfer routes from Lisbon Portela

• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to central Lisbon (Baixa): 7 km, 15 to 25 minutes
• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to Belém: 12 km, 20 to 30 minutes
• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to Santa Apolónia cruise terminal: 6 km, 12 to 20 minutes
• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to Cascais: 32 km, 35 to 50 minutes
• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to Sintra: 30 km, 35 to 50 minutes
• Lisbon Airport (LIS) to Évora: 140 km, 95 to 115 minutes

Booking your Lisbon Portela transfer

A pre-booked transfer through Taxi2Airport gives a fixed price, a licensed local operator, flight tracking and a meet-and-greet driver with a name sign in the Terminal 1 arrivals hall. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup keeps things flexible if your itinerary shifts. Payment runs through Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, iDEAL, Wero or PayPal, with the fare settled online before travel.