Skip to content

All airports

Airportist Score

Arrive

Security

Fastest

Cheapest

Lounges

On time

Guide

Alternatives

Nearby airports

HonestAirport

Directory Compare TSA tips Terms Privacy

Airportist Scores and guides are editorial content. Always verify live rules, terminals, and operational alerts with official airport and airline sources.

All airports

PDLLPPD

João Paulo II Airport

Ponta Delgada, PT

Airportist Score

Arrive

Security

Fastest

Cheapest

Lounges

On time

PDLGuide

Alternatives

Nearby airports

PDLLPPDNormal

João Paulo II Airport

Ponta Delgada, Portugal · Europe

A single-terminal Azores gateway 2 km from Ponta Delgada: straightforward once you are there, with a night-movement cap, Atlantic weather and terrain on approach, and a VIP room whose 2026 move was announced without published access rules.

Airportist Score

6.2/ 10

Mixed

Ease of use7.4
Comfort & amenities6.4
Food & retail5.4
Ground access6.2
Reliability5.8
Lounges4.6

How the score works

An editorial 0–10 score. The overall is exactly the weighted sum of six traveler categories — not a Google rating and not a poll.

25%Ease of use — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
20%Comfort & amenities — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
15%Food & retail — Food and retail quality and variety.
15%Ground access — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
15%Reliability — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
10%Lounges — Worth-it density and access quality.

Compare PDL with another airport

Arrive

Security

Fastest

Cheapest

Lounges

On time

PDLGuide

Alternatives

Nearby airports

All airports Official site

PDLLPPDNormal

João Paulo II Airport

Ponta Delgada, Portugal · Europe

A single-terminal Azores gateway 2 km from Ponta Delgada: straightforward once you are there, with a night-movement cap, Atlantic weather and terrain on approach, and a VIP room whose 2026 move was announced without published access rules.

Airportist Score

6.2/ 10

Mixed

Ease of use7.4
Comfort & amenities6.4
Food & retail5.4
Ground access6.2
Reliability5.8
Lounges4.6

How the score works

An editorial 0–10 score. The overall is exactly the weighted sum of six traveler categories — not a Google rating and not a poll.

25%Ease of use — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
20%Comfort & amenities — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
15%Food & retail — Food and retail quality and variety.
15%Ground access — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
15%Reliability — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
10%Lounges — Worth-it density and access quality.

Compare PDL with another airport

Best way to city
2 km from the city (AIP)
Taxi
Lounge
1
Terminals
1
passenger terminal
Passengers / year
2.77M (2025)

6 photos

Alternatives

Nearby airports

Passenger airports within about 150 km. Scored airports show their Airportist Score so you can weigh a switch.

SMASanta Maria Airport
Santa Maria
99 km

Sign in Join free

PDLGuide

PDLGuide

Editorial guide tricks

The markdown guide's highest-signal tactics before the data-backed tips below.

From Best Airport Tricks & Hacks

There is one passenger terminal. Check-in, security, and boarding all happen there.
The AIP puts the aerodrome reference point 2 km (1.08 NM) from the city on a bearing of 286° geographic.

Landing and take-off are forbidden by law from 01:00 to 07:00 UTC except force majeure, but Ponta Delgada has a commercial exception: at most 30 movements a week and 6 a day in that window. Noise levels 4, 8, and 16 are not scheduled from 03:00 to 06:00 UTC. Levels 0 through 2 are not restricted by that noise rule. Authorised arrivals in the window may not use reverse thrust after landing. A flight scheduled before 01:00 UTC can still arrive until 02:00 UTC if the delay is not the airport's fault. Weather exceptions cover flights to and from mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. The parenthetical AIP clocks are Azores standard (UTC−1). In summer, local time equals UTC.

Taxis are the published curb option. The airport public-transport page lists arrivals taxis at +351 296 302 530, +351 296 382 000, and +351 938 346 759, and adapted taxis through Cresaçor at +351 296 281 554, +351 917 234 239, and +351 910 315 730. No official fare was published.

Uber's newsroom said the service returned on 1 April 2026, at first on São Miguel only, and only with electric vehicles. Bolt's local press said the first TVDE service was already running in Ponta Delgada on 11 March 2025, after a 10 March start, with electric partner fleets. Neither notice covers the other islands.

The 2026 ANA parking tariff (the PDF headed as the 2026 final card): public P1 is €1.00 per 15 minutes, daily maximum €19.50. P2 is €0.90 per 15 minutes, daily maximum €13.20.

No Ponta Delgada liquids exemption or CT-scanner exception was published. The EU cabin rule remains containers of 100 ml or less in one clear bag of up to 1 litre unless the airport posts something else. A power-bank watt-hour limit and an official arrive-by time were not published.

ANA said in May 2026 that the Sala VIP will be relocated during 2026. As of 23 September 2026 this check does not know whether that move has happened. No walk-in price, hours, or Priority Pass, LoungeKey, or DragonPass code was published.

01

TransportTraveler Tips & Hacks

Read the night window before a late arrival

Commercial movements from 01:00 to 07:00 UTC are capped at 30 a week and 6 a day.

The AIP forbids landing and take-off in that window except force majeure and Ponta Delgada's commercial exception. Levels 4, 8, and 16 are not scheduled from 03:00 to 06:00 UTC. A delay that is not the airport's fault can extend an arrival scheduled before 01:00 UTC until 02:00 UTC. Weather exceptions cover mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira.

02

NavigationTraveler Tips & Hacks

Stay in the one terminal

The AIP distance to the city is 2 km, bearing 286° geographic.

There is no second passenger terminal. The map pin in the airport dataset (37.7486, −25.710557) is not the AIP reference point at runway 12/30 and taxiway F.

03

LoungeTraveler Tips & Hacks

Do not assume a pass opens the Sala VIP

The May 2026 ANA statement says the room will move in 2026. Access rules were not published.

ANA's premium-services page lists a bookable ANA Lounge in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, and Madeira, not Ponta Delgada. No Priority Pass, LoungeKey, or DragonPass code was found.

04

SecurityTraveler Tips & Hacks

Pack for the EU liquids rule

No Ponta Delgada exemption was published.

Containers of 100 ml or less in one clear bag of up to 1 litre is the rule to use until the airport posts otherwise. No official security-wait figure and no power-bank watt-hour limit were published.

⛅24°C / 75°F