Gago Coutinho was a soldier and scientist born in the Algarve and a national hero, and from 7 September will give name to Faro airport. António Costa, Prime Minister, was in Faro for the official ceremony to give Faro airport a new name.

In his speech, António Costa explained that the date was not chosen by chance, as this year was the 100th anniversary of the first flight across the North Atlantic, made by Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral.


Admiral Gago Coutinho, with family roots in São Brás de Alportel, was the navigator in this adventure of 4500 nautical miles (8300 kilometres). Piloting the seaplane was Commander Sacadura Cabral.


According to António Costa, naming Faro International Airport after Gago Coutinho is an initiative of high symbolic value that was proposed by AMAL - the Algarve Intermunicipal Community at the right time.


He said that it is an "infrastructure of crucial importance for the Algarve and for the national economy", which is especially important at a time when the Algarve is recovering from the pandemic crisis.