A resolution project was submitted today to the Assembly of the Republic, recommending the government to ban night flights, halt the expansion of Humberto Delgado Airport, expedite the construction of a new airport, and invest in railways as an alternative to Iberian flights,” stated Jorge Pinto, a deputy from Livre, at the demonstration organized by the platform “Aeroporto fora, Lisboa melhora”.
The initiative also received support from the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), represented by Jorge Ferreira, a Lisbon City Councilor, and from the Left Bloc (BE), represented by Carolina Serrão.
“The main aspect of [Livre’s proposal] is to remove Humberto Delgado Airport from the city center,” summarized the Livre deputy.
According to the lawmaker, maintaining such a structure in the Portuguese capital is “unsustainable” because it “impacts health” as well as air quality.
The European Commission “has numerous” studies on this, he pointed out, noting that in other European capitals, airports are already relocated outside the capitals.
The platform “Aeroporto fora, Lisboa melhora” called for a citizen gathering today in protest against “inaction by authorities” concerning the noise and pollution caused by Lisbon Airport. Although the turnout was modest, protestors directed several criticisms at the government and the Lisbon City Council for not defending the people’s interests.
The protest took place this evening outside the Humberto Delgado Airport metro station, with demonstrators demanding an end to night flights, the closure of the airport, immediate construction of a new airport outside the capital, and “a new green lung for the city.”
In statements to the Lusa news agency, on Wednesday, Sérgio Morais of the platform explained that the initiative aimed to show the dissatisfaction of people residing, working, or studying in areas affected by the noise and pollution created by airplanes.
“We are very concerned about the ongoing situation. Authorities continue to ignore us. It’s summer. Flights have increased, and we are increasingly bothered. We don’t see any progress on a solution. There’s silence on the construction of the new airport,” he said.
Sérgio Morais noted that noise from airplanes means for residents of the Areeiro, Alvalade, Campolide, Campo de Ourique, Camarate, Lumiar, and São João da Talha neighborhoods “disturbed sleep, interrupted classes, disrupted medical appointments, the smell of fuel, and hypertension related to the noise.”
According to Morais, the problem has “worsened significantly in recent years,” despite the government’s announcement last year that flights from Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport would be banned between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM, following conclusions from a working group on night flights.
“We’ve noticed that the number of flights has been increasing, especially during summer. We’ve decided to hold this demonstration to alert the public to the issues,” he stated.
Sérgio Morais added that the platform will request a meeting with the government to discuss the problems affecting these areas.
In November 2024, the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz (who remains in office in the current legislature), announced that flights in Lisbon between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM would be prohibited, as recommended by a working group that analyzed the issue and submitted the final report in July 2022.
In March this year, before the legislative elections, the Council of Ministers instructed the National Civil Aviation Authority, the sector’s regulator, to implement restrictions on nighttime operations.
The PSD/CDS executive indicated that the issue was about restricting operations of noisier aircraft between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM, imposing a ‘hard-curfew’ period without slots between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM, and implementing new aeronautical procedures to reduce noise.
