“In 102 flight requests, only seven were denied, and these were refused for various reasons. Therefore, it was clearly an overstatement by one of the Web Summit founders,” stated the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, speaking to Lusa during a visit to the facilities of Siderurgia Nacional in Seixal (Setúbal).
Reports emerged that several private jets bound for Lisbon were diverted to Badajoz, Spain, due to airport capacity issues in Portugal’s capital during the Web Summit.
The event’s organizers confirmed having received complaints from delegates forced to land far from Lisbon.
The Ministry of Infrastructure released a statement today affirming that Lisbon’s airport facilities adequately met the demand for private flight slots during the Web Summit.
“We find the public stance [of the Web Summit organizers] surprising. The Government, defending the country’s image as an investment attraction, clarified our capacity to receive private jets in this statement,” Miguel Pinto Luz emphasized.
According to a government announcement, the National Slot Coordination – an independent entity of NAV Portugal responsible for allocating landing or takeoff slots at coordinated national airports – “received over 100 slot requests for operations at Humberto Delgado Airport (AHD) between November 9 and 13, approving 95 of them and only rejecting seven that could not presently be accommodated at the facility.”
Compared to the same period for Web Summit 2024, there was an approximately 70% increase in slots allocated to private flights.
At the Cascais Municipal Aerodrome, the ministry reported 51 flights currently scheduled for the period, with 29 and 19 private flights planned for Faro and Porto, respectively.
No operational requests have been recorded for Beja so far, it added.
Specifically concerning AHD, the government explained that slot allocation “is based on defined technical criteria,” which for private flights includes a maximum turnaround time of 45 minutes and a requirement to submit requests at least 10 days before the desired date.
“At certain times of the day, AHD’s capacity is fully booked due to 38 pre-authorized movements per hour (the declared capacity),” it stressed.
The government assured that national airport facilities “remain fully available to accommodate private operations,” particularly at Cascais Municipal Aerodrome (marked as the “reference aerodrome for executive aviation in the Lisbon area”), as well as at airports in Beja, Faro, and Porto.
However, it also committed to “closely monitoring the issue,” remaining “ready to, if necessary, adopt exceptional measures,” including the “temporary lifting of operational restrictions applicable to aerodromes,” such as opening during nighttime.
The Web Summit commenced on Monday in Lisbon, featuring over 900 speakers and more than 70,000 attendees, according to event organizers, with artificial intelligence (AI) prominently highlighted.
