The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using three different Fairey III biplanes, and covered a distance of 8,383 kilometres (5,209 mi) between 30 March and 17 June. Although the North Atlantic had already been traversed in a non-stop flight by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in 1919, Coutinho and Cabral's flight remains notable as a milestone in transatlantic aviation, and for its use of new technologies such as the artificial horizon.In June 2022, the centenary of the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic, it was announced that Faro Airport will officially change its name to Gago Coutinho Airport, in honour of Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho.



The Portuguese Naval Aviation (Portuguese: Aviação Naval Portuguesa) constituted the air component of the Portuguese Navy, from 1917 to 1957. The Portuguese Air Force maritime patrol units and the Navy's Helicopter Squadron (EHM, Esquadrilha de Helicópteros da Marinha) are the present successors of the former Portuguese Naval Aviation.Although generically referred as "Naval Aviation", the air component of the Navy was officially successively designated "Navy's Aviation Service" (1917-1918), "Naval Aeronautics Service" (1918-1952) and "Aeronaval Forces" (1952-1958). In 1958, the Aeronaval Forces, which were already part of the Air Force - although still under the Navy's operational control and operated by naval personnel - were disbanded and its assets fully integrated in the Portuguese Air Force.

In 1993, an air component was reactivated in the Portuguese Navy, in the form of the Navy's Helicopter Squadron, to operate its new shipborne helicopters entering service with the Vasco da Gama class frigates. The remaining aviation activities which were once performed by the Naval Aviation, including the maritime air patrol, anti-surface warfare and air-sea rescue, continue however to be performed by the Portuguese Air Force.