The position of the Mayor of Lisbon was expressed to journalists before a public meeting to discuss the consequences of increasing the capacity of Humberto Delgado Airport.

“It will take years until we have a new airport in Alcochete and there will have to be work on this airport [Humberto Delgado]. We have an airport that is bursting at the seams. As Mayor, I want to limit the number of flights. I don’t want to have any disruption. On the other hand, our economy and tourism are important for Lisbon. This is the balance we will have to achieve”, he stressed.

The discussion on increasing the capacity of Humberto Delgado Airport will take place today at 3:00pm in the Archive Room of the Lisbon City Council and is the result of a request from the Socialist Party. Several invited entities, including the Portuguese Environment Agency, are expected to attend this public meeting.

The Socialist Party council, which organised the meeting, indicated that “around 100,000 people live in the parishes adjacent to the airport, and are already subject to negative impacts in terms of noise, pollution and traffic congestion”.

“Even before any increase in airport capacity, Lisbon is already the second European capital with the most inhabitants exposed to aircraft noise”, the socialists stressed.

To participate in the discussion, the council invited, at the proposal of the PS, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS), Zero - Sustainable Land System Association, GEOTA - Study Group on Territorial Planning and Environment, the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) and the Living in Lisbon movement.

The remaining political parties represented in the council - PSD/CDS, PCP, Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), Livre and BE - can indicate other entities, with the Bloco de Esquerda party inviting the civic platform "Aeroporto fora, Lisboa melhor" (Airport out, Lisbon improves), which has been demanding the end of night flights and compliance with the General Noise Law since 2022.

Compensation

In May, the PSD/CDS-PP leadership presented a motion for the municipality to be compensated for the temporary increase in the airport's capacity and to demand that the concessionaire “immediately minimize the impacts of the operation” of the infrastructure, but the proposal was rejected with the opposition voting against.

At that time, in addition to the PS motion, the CML approved (with the PSD/CDS voting against) the PCP motion “For the immediate construction of the new Lisbon airport. For the closure of Portela”, arguing that the decision to build the new airport on the land of the current Alcochete Shooting Range “must be implemented as quickly as possible” and that “any increase in traffic at Humberto Delgado Airport should be rejected outright, as well as the expansion works that would make it viable”.

The communists defended the “immediate suppression of night flights”, as previously demanded by the CML, which was approved with the PS voting against and the other parties voting in favour. Part of the BE motion “For no increase in movements per hour and for the phased closure of Humberto Delgado Airport” was also made viable, with votes against from PSD/CDS-PP, to urge the Government “not to increase the number of movements per hour” in the current infrastructure.