It is urgent that we not lose a single day regarding the new airport, so in 10 years – now less, nine years and six months – we can inaugurate the new airport and dismantle Portela airport, which decreases the quality of life for those in the corridor,” the minister said, speaking to journalists in Alenquer and broadcast by RTP3.
Miguel Pinto Luz highlighted the environmental and noise issues, noting that “it is not acceptable in a 21st-century city, modern and cosmopolitan, such as Lisbon.”
Regarding the new airport’s timeline, the minister has no doubts: “The deadlines have all been met.” Miguel Pinto Luz assures that “there are no delays” in the schedule proposed by the Executive.
It is noteworthy that ANA Aeroportos predicts the opening of the new Lisbon airport in mid-2037, or with optimizations to the schedule to negotiate with the Government, by the end of 2036, according to the initial report submitted in December and published today.
Citizens protest on Wednesday against Lisbon airport noise
The platform ‘Aeroporto fora, Lisboa melhora’ has called for a gathering of citizens this Wednesday, protesting against the “inaction of authorities” regarding the noise and pollution caused by Lisbon airport.
At the protest scheduled for 19:00, which will take place at the exit of the Humberto Delgado Airport metro station, citizens will demand the end of night flights, the closure of the airport, the urgent construction of the new Lisbon airport outside the capital, and “a new green lung in the city.”
In statements to Lusa agency, Sérgio Morais, from the platform, stated today that the initiative aims to show the discontent of people who live, work, or study in areas affected by the noise and pollution generated by planes.
In November 2024, the Infrastructure Minister, Miguel Pinto Luz (who remains in office in the current legislature), announced that flights would be prohibited in Lisbon between 01:00 and 05:00, as recommended by a working group that analyzed the topic and delivered the final report in July 2022.
In March this year, still before the legislative elections, the Council of Ministers instructed the National Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation sector regulator, to operationalize the restrictions on nighttime operations.
The PSD/CDS executive indicated then that restrictions on the operation of noisier aircraft between 23:00 and 07:00 were at stake, besides imposing a period without ‘slots’ (‘hard-curfew’) between 01:00 and 05:00, as well as implementing new aeronautical procedures to reduce noise.
