“We need an airport. If it is in one place or another, that must be a technical decision, but the airport must move forward for the good of all”, said the mayor.

The statements by the Mayor of Lisbon came in response to concerns raised by the president of AHP, Bernardo Trindade, who warned that hotels could lose customers due to delays in the process of building the new airport.

The international public tender for carrying out the strategic environmental assessment of Lisbon was launched by the Government in October 2021.

At that time, the then Assistant Secretary of State for Communications, Hugo Santos Mendes, said that the strategic environmental assessment of the three hypotheses for the location of the new Lisbon airport should be delivered in 2023.

Three options

Currently, on the table are three hypotheses: Humberto Delgado airport (main), with Montijo airport (complementary), Montijo airport (main), with Humberto Delgado airport (complementary) and an infrastructure located in the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete.

Another of the issues raised by Carlos Moedas, and which also arose as a result of concerns expressed by the president of the AHP, was the lack of staff from the Foreigners and Borders Services (SEF) at Humberto Delgado Airport, a situation that generates queues of three and four hours to enter Lisbon.

“You can have the best hotels, the best companies in the world, but if people have three or four hours to get into Lisbon, those people won't come back. It is our responsibility to alert the Government and for this to be resolved quickly. We cannot have the airport in these conditions which are shameful for any foreigner who arrives”, he criticized.