Flights to Lisbon: Which UK Airports Fly Direct and When Fares Are Lowest

Install a HelloRoam Portugal eSIM before you fly, and your phone has mobile data on landing for the Metro map, ride apps and your hotel's check-in messages.

London to Lisbon is a flight of under 3 hours

Ryanair's route timetable gives 2 hours 50 minutes from Stansted and from Birmingham, 2 hours 55 minutes from Manchester and 3 hours 15 minutes from Edinburgh. easyJet's Lisbon page puts flights from the UK at 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on the airport, and London to Lisbon at about 2 hours 45 minutes.

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Some published figures are shorter. British Airways quotes 2 hours 20 minutes from London, and Stansted Airport's Lisbon guide says 2 hours 30 minutes. Plan your transfer around the arrival time on your booking, not a general figure.

Flights home take the same time or a little less. Ryanair's November 2026 timetable gives 2 hours 45 minutes from Lisbon to Birmingham and 3 hours 10 minutes to Edinburgh, 5 minutes less than the flights out. Stansted and Manchester take the same time both ways.

Four airlines link ten UK airports with Lisbon this winter

Each airline below lists the route on its own Lisbon pages. The last column shows when the airport carried Lisbon passengers in the Civil Aviation Authority's airport data from October 2025 to August 2026.

easyJet lists Lisbon fares from Glasgow for December and from Newcastle for November, so both newer routes run into the winter. Heathrow is the busiest UK airport for Lisbon: the CAA counted 101,820 scheduled passengers between the two in August 2026, more than twice Gatwick's 41,357.

In London, Stansted is Ryanair only and Luton is easyJet only. Gatwick has easyJet and TAP, and Heathrow has British Airways and TAP. Outside London, only Manchester has three airlines on the route.

Leeds Bradford, Belfast and Bournemouth have no direct Lisbon route

The CAA data shows no scheduled Lisbon passengers at Leeds Bradford, either Belfast airport or Bournemouth in any of those 11 months. East Midlands carried 173, all in August 2026, and the route is not on Ryanair's or easyJet's Lisbon lists.

Liverpool had Lisbon flights every month from March to August 2026, but it is missing from easyJet's Lisbon fare list and Ryanair's Lisbon route list for this winter. Check before you plan a winter trip from there.

Leeds Bradford and Belfast International both had summer flights to Porto, in northern Portugal: 3,188 and 3,288 passengers in August 2026, and none in February 2026.

Winter brings the lowest Lisbon fares on Ryanair and easyJet

On 26 October 2026, Ryanair's fare calendar marked January 2027 as the cheapest month from Stansted, with fares from £19.99 each way. Its cheapest July 2027 day from Stansted was £70.99. From Manchester, the cheapest month was November 2026, from £16.99, against £100.99 for the cheapest day in July 2027.

easyJet's lowest Lisbon fares fell in November, December or January on all eight UK routes on its Lisbon page that day. British Airways names March and October as its cheapest months to Lisbon, so compare airlines for your dates.

Fewer people fly in winter too. The CAA counted 191,325 scheduled passengers between UK airports and Lisbon in January 2026, the quietest month in that data, against 286,853 in August 2026.

Count bags and airport travel before you call a fare cheap

• Compare every airport you can reach. The table above shows which airlines fly from each one.
• Try mid-week dates. Ryanair says flights on a Tuesday or Wednesday are often cheaper.
• Check the bag rules. easyJet's fare includes one small under-seat bag, up to 45 x 36 x 20 cm. A large cabin bag for the overhead locker is booked separately. Other airlines set their own rules.
• Add the trip to the airport. A lower fare from an airport further away can cost more once you add the train, coach or parking.

If Lisbon is one of several options, compare budget city breaks from the UK. For what to take, see our holiday packing list.

Lisbon keeps the same clock time as the UK

Mainland Portugal uses UTC in winter. Its clocks go forward one hour in March and back in October, at 01:00 UTC each time, according to IPMA's legal time page. The UK uses GMT in winter and changes its clocks at that same hour, on the last Sundays of March and October. There is no time difference to plan around for check-in times or calls home.

EES checks at Lisbon passport control can take extra time

Portugal follows Schengen area rules. The FCDO's Portugal entry requirements, last updated on 11 August 2026, say this for a full British citizen passport:

• Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive, and expire at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area.
• You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa as a tourist. Days in other Schengen countries in the 180 days before count towards the 90.
• Border staff may ask to see an onward or return ticket and proof of enough money for your visit.
• A child aged 17 or under travelling alone, or with an adult who is not their parent or legal guardian, needs a certified letter of authorisation.

The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) is now being introduced across the Schengen area. On your first visit you may be asked to register your fingerprints and a photo at a special booth before the immigration desk. It costs nothing, and children aged 11 or younger do not have their fingerprints scanned, though they may need a photo. The FCDO says to expect longer waits at the border and to allow extra time to reach your gate when you fly home. Your EES record is valid for 3 years.

ETIAS is a separate travel authorisation that UK passport holders without a visa or residence permit will need for the Schengen area once it starts. GOV.UK's EU Entry/Exit System guidance says the EU will announce the start date before launch and that no action is needed yet. It also warns that any website selling ETIAS now is doing so fraudulently.

You can also fill in an entry questionnaire before you go in the EU's optional Travel to Europe app. Rules can change, so read the FCDO page before you travel, and contact the Portuguese Embassy in the UK if you are not sure how they apply to you.

The Metro's red line stops beside the airport arrivals area

Every direct flight from the UK lands at Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), which easyJet notes is also called Portela. Aeroporto Metro station, on the red line, sits beside the arrivals area of the airport building.

The Metro runs from 6:30am to 1am every day. At the gates you can tap a contactless bank card, one card per person, or use a Viva Viagem or navegante card loaded with a ticket. On a late arrival, check the time before you count on the Metro.

Ryanair's flights home leave from Terminal 2, which Lisbon Airport says is for departures only. The airport's free shuttle bus to Terminal 2 leaves from the Terminal 1 departures area.

Check your UK roaming terms, or add a Portugal eSIM at home

UK networks set their own charges for using your phone in Portugal. Ofcom's roaming advice says providers must publish their roaming charges and send you a message when you arrive abroad explaining any charges or limits, unless you have opted out. It also suggests checking for roaming offers, such as a daily or weekly charge to use your home allowance. To weigh the options, see how an eSIM compares with roaming.

HelloRoam's Portugal plans connect to Vodafone and NOS. Both are 5G networks. A plan starts when your phone first connects to a local network in Portugal, so you can install the eSIM at home days before you fly.

When you land, choose the HelloRoam line for mobile data and switch its data roaming on. Your UK number can stay on for calls and texts, including bank codes, on your UK network's roaming terms. On an iPhone XS or later, Apple's Dual SIM guide says both numbers can make calls and send texts, while one number at a time uses mobile data.

You need an unlocked phone that supports eSIM, so check your phone works with eSIM first. iPhone users can follow our iPhone eSIM travel guide.

Going on to Spain or France? A plan for Portugal, Spain and France keeps one eSIM working across the borders, and HelloRoam support runs 24/7 by email and WhatsApp.