Lisbon · Portugal
LIS — Humberto Delgado Airport
Close to the city, two terminals, and one of them only sends you away
Lisbon's airport sits within the city boundary, which makes it one of the most conveniently placed capital airports in Europe. The Metro reaches it directly and the journey into the centre is short by any standard.
The layout has one quirk worth knowing before you travel: Terminal 2 handles departures only, for certain lower-cost carriers, and it has no arrivals facility at all. Everyone who lands does so at Terminal 1, whichever terminal they depart from later.
Terminals and how they connect
Terminal 1
The main building, handling all arrivals and most departures, with the Metro station attached. Long-haul and full-service carriers operate from here.
Terminal 2
Departures only, used by some lower-cost carriers. There are no arrival facilities, so a flight departing from T2 still lands back at T1 on the return.
Getting between them
A free shuttle bus runs between the terminals every ten to twenty minutes and takes around five to ten. There is no airside connection.
Getting into Lisbon
Times below are realistic ranges rather than best cases. Rail journeys keep to a timetable; road journeys do not, and treating the two the same is how people miss flights.
Metro red line
20 to 30 minutes to the centre
The station is at Terminal 1 and connects to the rest of the network with one change for most central destinations. Cheap and reliable, though the older stations have stairs that are unhelpful with heavy bags.
Aerobus
About 30 to 40 minutes
A shuttle bus to the central districts with luggage space, more expensive than the Metro but with fewer stairs and a more direct route to some hotel areas.
Taxi or rideshare
15 to 30 minutes
Genuinely quick given the short distance, and reasonably priced by Western European standards. The obvious choice with luggage or late at night.
Connecting through LIS
Lisbon is a significant connecting point for routes between Europe and Brazil and the wider Portuguese-speaking world, and Terminal 1 handles these reasonably well. The complication is any itinerary that departs from Terminal 2, because that requires leaving the secure area and taking the shuttle bus. On separate tickets that combination is a genuine risk and should be given a wide margin.
Worth knowing before you fly
Terminal 2 is departures only
You cannot arrive there. If a return itinerary shows T2 outbound, the inbound will bring you to T1, and the shuttle between them is landside only.
The Metro has stairs
The red line reaches the airport directly and is the cheapest option, but parts of the network are old and step-free access is inconsistent. With heavy luggage the Aerobus or a taxi is less of a struggle.
The airport is inside the city
The short distance is a real advantage: a taxi to the centre is quick and inexpensive by European capital standards, which changes the calculation against public transport.
Terminal assignments, transit timetables and fares all change. Confirm the details that matter to your trip with the airport or transport operator before you travel.
What a delay or cancellation out of Lisbon is worth
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004Owed once you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late, and not owed at all where the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
| Flight distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km, and also any intra-EU flight longer than 1,500 km however far it goes | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 |
The airline may cut these by 50% if it re-routes you and you land within two hours of your original arrival on a short flight, three on a medium one, or four on a long one. Article 7(2), and the reason a long-haul delay is sometimes quoted at half the headline figure.
Court of Justice case law
Regulation 261/2004 awards compensation for cancellation and denied boarding. Article 6 covers delay with care rather than money, and the right to be paid for a three-hour arrival delay comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07), reaffirmed in Nelson (C-581/10). Binding, and worth citing by name, but not a line you will find in the regulation.
Read the sourceWhat they owe you while you wait, whatever the cause
Extraordinary circumstances — weather, an air traffic control strike, a bird strike — let the airline off the compensation. They do not touch this. In McDonagh v Ryanair the Court held the duty to look after you has no time limit and no cash ceiling, so a volcano does not end it. If a gate agent tells you a weather delay means no meal and no hotel, that is wrong.
- After 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours on medium ones, 4 hours on long ones
- Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, plus two free calls, messages or emails.
- After Once departure slips to the next day
- Hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and it, at the airline's cost.
- After 5 hours
- You may abandon the trip and take a full refund instead of waiting it out.
If your flight through LIS is cancelled or badly delayed
Where the US rules still reach your ticket
LIS is outside the United States, so the US Department of Transportation rules we publish do not govern a departure from here on their own — they reach your itinerary when it touches the US. The regime that governs a departure from here is set out above, and it pays for the disruption itself rather than merely refunding the fare. It matters on a transatlantic ticket that both reach you: fly into the US and the DOT refund right applies to that leg as well, which is a second claim rather than an alternative to the first.
Stated plainly because the alternative is worse: a page that quoted a § 259.5 commitment at somebody departing Lisbon would be inventing a right they do not have, and they would find that out at the desk. The same discipline runs the other way — we do not put a euro figure on a sterling regime, or a sterling one on a euro regime.
Routes through LIS
Flying to Lisbon
Stuck on hold?
Talk to an independent agent instead
Airline phone queues and chatbots are where a rebooking stalls. Our agents work these routes daily and will look at what is actually available, walk through the letter you are about to send, and tell you what a desk agent will and will not do. We are not the airline and we do not file claims for you — the templates above are yours to send.
FAQ
LIS — common questions
Terminals, transfers and getting into the city.
How do I get from Lisbon airport to the city centre?
The Metro red line runs directly from Terminal 1 and reaches the centre in twenty to thirty minutes with one change for most destinations. It is the cheapest option, though older stations have stairs that are awkward with luggage. A taxi takes fifteen to thirty minutes and is inexpensive by Western European standards, which makes it a reasonable choice with bags.
What is the difference between Lisbon Terminal 1 and Terminal 2?
Terminal 1 is the main building and handles all arrivals plus most departures. Terminal 2 handles departures only, for certain lower-cost carriers, and has no arrivals facility. That means even if you depart from T2, you will land at T1 on the way back. A free shuttle bus connects them landside; there is no airside link.
How early should I arrive at Lisbon airport?
Two hours for a European flight and three for long-haul is sensible, and worth treating seriously in summer when the airport runs well above comfortable capacity. If you are departing from Terminal 2, add the shuttle bus time to whatever you had planned, since it runs landside and only every ten to twenty minutes.
Still have a question? We're happy to explain — just call.
Call now — +1 (888) 410-4445 →