"We have to transform Macau International Airport, with direct air routes to Europe, particularly to Portugal," said Coutinho, after presenting the political program of the Nova Esperança party to the local parliament.

The lawyer said that the largest long-haul planes in the world can already land in Macau, but that there is a lack of space at the airport to park the aircraft, a problem he said he hopes will be solved with the expansion of the infrastructure.

The expansion of the airport, launched in November, involves the construction of a landfill of more than 129 hectares and is expected to be completed in 2030, increasing capacity from 9.6 million to 13 million passengers per year.

"We hope that in the future we will no longer need to travel to Hong Kong to catch an international flight to Europe or America and we can start our journey in Macau, which is our home," said Coutinho.

Macau airport currently has regular passenger flights operated by 27 airlines to 41 destinations in mainland China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.

On the other hand, Coutinho criticized the local government's decision to restrict the financial aid given annually to people with resident status to those who have lived in the region for at least 183 days in 2024.

The measure provides for exceptions, including for those living in the nine mainland Chinese cities integrated into the Guandong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area project and for those studying at universities abroad.

But Coutinho warned that the exceptions did not eliminate all injustices, particularly in the case of retirees living in Portugal.

The deputy gave the example of a former Portuguese soldier, "almost 90 years old", who worked for 40 years as a police officer in Macau, but who is not entitled to financial aid because he went to live with his daughter in Portugal after becoming a widower.

"Do you think that is fair?" Coutinho asked the journalists.