Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Pico Airport sits on the northern coast of Pico Island in the Azores, serving the wine-growing island beneath its namesake volcano. It is a single east-west runway field operated as a regional gateway with scheduled links to Lisbon and the other Azorean islands, and its unusual orientation makes wind awareness essential for visiting pilots.
Pico Airport (ICAO LPPI, IATA PIX) is the airfield serving Pico Island in the Azores archipelago, roughly 8 km from the island's main town of Madalena. It is managed by SATA Gestão de Aeródromos and handles scheduled services linking the island to Lisbon and to other Azorean islands, making it a useful and scenic VFR or IFR destination for pilots exploring the archipelago beneath the dramatic profile of Pico's volcano.
The airfield lies on the northern coast of Pico Island, straddling the civil parishes of Bandeiras and Santa Luzia, along the regional E.R.1-1a road that connects Madalena, the island's capital, to São Roque do Pico. Madalena itself is about 8 km to the west/southwest.
Pico has a single hard-surfaced runway aligned 09/27, lit for night operations. Runway 09 measures 5,484 ft and Runway 27 measures 5,431 ft; Runway 27 is equipped with an ILS. Field elevation is 108 ft.
An AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service) is provided on 122.7 MHz. Runway 27 is served by an ILS, supplementing the PI-based approach aids historically used at the field.
The runway's east-west orientation was originally forced by the island's terrain, leaving it exposed to the dominant southerly winds affecting Pico; pilots should expect crosswind conditions to be a regular factor when planning approaches and departures. No further published circuit heights or joining instructions are available from the sources reviewed.
The airfield is bordered by the coastal settlements of Bandeiras and Santa Luzia, with Madalena, the island's main town, some 8 km to the west along the coast road. The volcanic cone of Pico itself, one of the most prominent landmarks in the Azores, dominates the skyline to the south and provides an unmistakable reference for inbound traffic.
Studies for an airfield on Pico date back to the immediate post-war period, but in 1946 the decision instead favoured building an aerodrome on neighbouring Faial. Construction of a runway and terminal on Pico finally began on 5 May 1976 under the initiative of the Portuguese army, before being completed under the Regional Government of the Azores. The runway was inaugurated on 25 April 1982 at a length of only 1,200 metres, limiting it to smaller aircraft. In 1990, the introduction of SATA Air Açores' ATP aircraft prompted an extension to 1,520 metres with a widened surface of 30 metres. A further extension around a dozen years later brought the runway to its current 1,745 metres, alongside a new terminal, control tower, first-aid station, firefighting facilities and cargo warehouse. Pico received its first direct flight from Lisbon in April 2005, and an ILS system was adjudicated for installation around 2010.
Pico Airport remains an active regional airport under SATA Gestão de Aeródromos, with Azores Airlines operating to Lisbon and SATA Air Açores providing inter-island connections to Ponta Delgada and Terceira. The runway and approach lighting support both VFR and IFR operations, including limited night flying. Prior permission may be required for general aviation movements; visiting pilots should confirm arrangements before flight.