At 2:20 p.m. on December 2, 1945, the first of several Dragon-Rapids of the Companhia de Transportes Aéreos (CTA) landed on the brand new runway. A few minutes after getting off the plane, Humberto Delgado, then director of the Secretariat of Civil Aeronautics, Óscar Carmona, head of State, and several ministers cut the ribbon.

The North of the country made its debut in regular commercial aviation and the Pedras Rubras Airfield, currently Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, was born.

The main gateway to the region, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, received 15 million passengers in just one year in 2023. Considered several times as a reference International Airport, it is located near one of the main industrial areas of Maia (main exporter of AMP), north of the city of Porto and connected by land to Galicia and the entire Northern Region.

It is the main airport infrastructure of the Galicia/Northern Portugal Euroregion.

Considered one of the best European and world airports in terms of ease of connection, it was built in 2006, designed by architect João Leal.