“It took 10 years of struggle to achieve this goal,” the mayor told Lusa, clarifying that the Government's decision was communicated to him by the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, last week.

According to Ribau Esteves, the municipal aerodrome, directly managed by Aveiro City Council, will be dedicated to non-commercial civil aviation, which typically uses smaller aircraft.

“In our municipality and in the region, we have multinational companies asking us to allow their planes, carrying their directors and officers, to land at our aerodrome,” explained the mayor.

Another objective is to promote military tourism in the aeronautical field.

“The control tower, the two runway hangars, the so-called seaplane hangar, are buildings with very significant architectural and heritage value and we want to work on, explore, and give dimension to this component,” said Ribau Esteves.

After receiving the Army’s approval, the proposal to create the Municipal Aerodrome was presented by the council to the socialist government, which rejected it in September 2023, according to a council note.

With the new Government taking office, the Aveiro Municipal Aerodrome project, in São Jacinto, was resubmitted in June 2024, with "multiple contacts, namely with the Minister of Environment and Energy and the Minister of National Defence".

“Now is the time to deal with the formalities and the development of the entire process”, states the same note, adding that the local authority will promote this new infrastructure, managed by it in close cooperation with the Army/RI10, developing actions and projects in the areas of Military and Aeronautical Tourism, Culture, Education and Training, Science, Research and Development, Support for Industry, among others.