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One of the first questions we get from people planning a trip to Galicia, or thinking about moving here, is which airport to fly into. Unlike regions with one obvious hub, Galicia is served by three separate airports, each with its own strengths. There’s no single “right” answer, it depends on where in Galicia you’re headed and where you’re flying from.
Here’s an overview of all three, plus a nearby alternative that’s worth knowing about.
Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ)
Officially named Santiago–Rosalía de Castro Airport after the Galician poet, this is by far the busiest airport in the region and the second-busiest in northern Spain after Bilbao. It sits about 12 kilometres east of Santiago de Compostela, in the parish of Lavacolla, and handled well over 3.6 million passengers in 2024.
Santiago is a focus city for both Ryanair and Vueling, and Iberia (through its regional operator Air Nostrum) also runs a steady schedule to Madrid. Beyond the domestic network to Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, Santiago has genuine international reach for a regional airport of its size: direct flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Brussels (the last a seasonal route), along with connections to the Canary Islands and a handful of other Spanish destinations. There are no scheduled long-haul flights, though a seasonal route to Marrakech is the closest thing to an intercontinental connection.
For most visitors and for anyone settling in central or northern Galicia, Santiago is the natural choice. It’s the best-connected of the three, and the city itself is worth the stopover even if you’re headed elsewhere.
A Coruña Airport (LCG)
Also known by its older name, Alvedro, A Coruña’s airport sits in the municipality of Culleredo, about 8 kilometres from the city centre. It’s smaller than Santiago but not insignificant, with just under 1.3 million passengers in 2025 and a growth rate that’s been outpacing the other two.
The route network here leans domestic. Madrid is by far the busiest connection, followed by Barcelona, with Iberia, Vueling and Air Europa the main operators. easyJet adds a couple of useful international routes to Geneva and Milan, and there are seasonal links to the Canary Islands via Vueling and Binter Canarias.
A Coruña makes sense if you’re specifically headed to the north coast, the Costa da Morte, or the Rías Altas, and want to skip the extra drive from Santiago.
Vigo–Peinador Airport (VGO)
Vigo’s airport is the smallest of the three but still handled just over 1.1 million passengers in 2025. It sits around 10 kilometres from the city centre, split across the municipalities of Redondela, Vigo and Mos.
The network is almost entirely domestic: Madrid (Air Europa, Iberia), Barcelona (Vueling), and the Canary Islands (Binter Canarias, with Ryanair adding some capacity too). There’s essentially no direct international service here, so if you’re flying in from outside Spain, expect a connection through Madrid or Barcelona.
Vigo is the obvious pick for southern Galicia, the Rías Baixas, and anyone doing the Portuguese Way of the Camino de Santiago. It’s also, notably, the closest of the three to the Portuguese border.
The fourth option: Porto Airport, Portugal
This one doesn’t get mentioned often enough. Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours’ drive from Vigo and southern Galicia, and it has a far bigger international network than any of Galicia’s own airports, including direct low-cost flights to the UK, Ireland, and much of western Europe that simply don’t exist from Santiago, A Coruña or Vigo.
For anyone relocating to southern Galicia, or for visitors coming from a country without a direct Galician connection, it’s genuinely worth comparing fares to Porto against fares to Vigo or Santiago before booking. The extra drive is often worth the savings, and Porto is a pleasant stop in its own right.
Which airport should you choose?
As a rough guide:
- Heading to Santiago, Lugo province, or the Ribeira Sacra: Santiago is almost always the best option, and often the only sensible one without a long drive.
- Heading to A Coruña or the north coast: A Coruña’s own airport saves you the drive from Santiago.
- Heading to Vigo, the Rías Baixas, or southern Galicia: Vigo, or check Porto for international routes.
- Flying from outside Spain and no direct Galician route exists: Compare connecting through Madrid or Barcelona against flying into Porto and driving north.
None of the three Galician airports functions as a major international hub, so anyone travelling from further afield should expect at least one connection somewhere along the way. That’s simply the reality of flying into a rural, relatively low-population region, and honestly, it’s part of what keeps Galicia from being overrun with tourists.
Getting from the airport to your final destination
All three airports have taxi ranks and rental car desks on site, and this matters more here than in most parts of Spain. Public transport in Galicia’s countryside is limited, and if you’re headed anywhere outside the main cities, a rental car isn’t a luxury, it’s close to essential. Bus connections exist from each airport into the nearest city centre, but once you’re outside Santiago, A Coruña or Vigo itself, you’ll want your own wheels.
If you’re moving to Galicia rather than just visiting, it’s worth factoring your nearest airport into where you choose to live, especially if you’ll be flying back to visit family regularly. The difference between an hour’s drive to Santiago and two and a half hours to Vigo adds up fast.