Luís de Camões Airport (Aeroporto Luís de Camões) is a planned international airport that will primarily serve Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It will be located 40 km by road from Lisbon's downtown, on the current site of Field Firing Range of Alcochete, an area administratively part of the civil parishes of Samora Correia (in Benavente municipality) and Canha (in Montijo municipality).
Luís de Camões Airport Aeroporto Luís de Camões | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public-private | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Portugal | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | ANA Aeroportos de Portugal (granted under concession to Vinci Airports until 2062) | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Lisbon metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Samora Correia, Benavente and Canha, Montijo, Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, Portugal | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 2034 (projected) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 45[1] m / 148 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°46′N 8°48′W / 38.767°N 8.800°W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  Luís de Camões Airport Location of airport in Portugal | |||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Data based on the 2010 EIA study | |||||||||||||||
Overview
editThe new airport is projected to be completed in 2034, at which time the existing Lisbon Airport will be shut down. It is projected to cost up to €9 billion and will be funded from European Union funds, public-private partnerships, and airport tariffs. It will have the capability of meeting projected demand of 100 million passengers annually by 2050, an increase from current Lisbon air traffic of approximately 30 million passengers per year.[4][5] The airport will have two runways with capacity for up to 95 movements per hour with the possibility of expanding to up to four runways.[6][7]
The airport is to be named after 16th century poet Luís de Camões.[8]
History
editAfter years of debate on a location for a new airport near Lisbon, including the possibility of building the Ota Airport, in January 2008 a location in the Field Firing Range of Alcochete was chosen since it is more accessible due to nearby infrastructure such as the Vasco da Gama Bridge.[9] The environmental impact assessment study was completed in early 2010 and granted an approval permit by the Portuguese Environment Agency on 9 December 2010.[10][11] By then, Alcochete Airport was planned to open in late 2017.[12][13] However, shortly thereafter, forced by the 2010–2014 Portuguese financial crisis and the ensuing international bailout, the project was put on hold.[14]
In 2017, Ryanair was a major proponent of converting the Montijo Air Base into a facility for low-cost carriers; the company said that the new airport could be operational with as little as €25 million.[6]
In October 2019, the Portuguese Environment Agency gave approval for construction of Montijo Airport if it met certain conditions including sound insulation requirements and restrictions on flights between midnight and 6AM.[15] This permit, enacted in January 2020, eventually expired in January 2024, after the agency rejected the renewal request submitted by ANA-Vinci, leading to ultimately unsuccessful legal objections from the airport operator.[16][17] In its 2024 decision, the Environment Agency cited increasing environmental concerns following new studies done in the area, most notably a negative opinion by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.[17][18]
In March 2021, the National Authority of Civil Aviation of Portugal rejected the formal evaluation request for construction of Montijo Airport submitted by airport operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, citing disagreements with the nearby municipalities as well as environmental concerns. The government then evaluated changing the law or selecting another location for the airport.[19]
In May 2024, the Portuguese government announced that the new airport will be built in Field Firing Range of Alcochete and will be ready in 2034.[4][20][21] The decision followed the possibility of building the airport in Montijo, near to the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve, a site favoured by Vinci Airports[22] (to whom ANA was granted under concession in 2012) and opposed by environmental, aeronautic and other civil society groups, as well as by the Order of Engineers and the Order of Economists.[23][24]
References
edit- ^ "Capítulo 3 — Descrição do Projecto" [Chapter 3 — Project description]. Estudo de Impacte Ambiental do Novo Aeroporto de Lisboa [Environmental Impact Assessment of the New Lisbon Airport] (Technical report). Vol. I. NAER. 2010. pp. 329, 338. Tomo 1 [Tome 1].
- ^ a b "Capítulo 3 — Descrição do Projecto" [Chapter 3 — Project description]. Estudo de Impacte Ambiental do Novo Aeroporto de Lisboa [Environmental Impact Assessment of the New Lisbon Airport] (Technical report). Vol. I. NAER. 2010. pp. 106–107, 143, 162. Tomo 1 [Tome 1].
- ^ a b "Peça Desenhada 5.13.1 - Pista e Caminhos de Circulação Secções Tipo de Pavimentos" [Working Drawing 5.13.1 - Runway and taxiways - pavement cross-section]. Estudo de Impacte Ambiental do Novo Aeroporto de Lisboa [Environmental Impact Assessment of the New Lisbon Airport] (Technical report). Vol. I. NAER. 2010. Tomo 5 - Peças Desenhadas [Tome 5 — Working Drawings].
- ^ a b Rua, Patrícia Vicente; Demony, Catarina; Goncalves, Sergio (14 May 2024). "Portugal to build new airport across the river from Lisbon". Reuters.
- ^ Dunn, Graham (17 May 2024). "Portugal formally selects military airfield site for new Lisbon international hub airport". FlightGlobal.
- ^ a b "Lisbon Luís de Camões Airport". CAPA.
- ^ "Airports of the future: 19 weird and wonderful terminals under construction". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 2016. ISSN 0307-1235.
- ^ https://eco.sapo.pt/2024/05/14/governo-assume-o-aeroporto-unico-como-solucao-vai-chamar-se-luis-de-camoes/
- ^ "Location of new Lisbon airport decided". CAPA. 9 April 2008.
- ^ "Processo AIA n.º 2251" [EIA case nr. 2251]. Sistema de Informação sobre Avaliação de Impacte Ambiental [Environmental Impact Assessment Information System] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Environment Agency. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ Declaração de Impacto Ambiental n.º 2251 [Environmental Impact Assessment Decision Notice nr. 2251] (PDF) (Report) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Environment Agency. 9 December 2010. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Capítulo 3 — Descrição do Projecto" [Chapter 3 — Project description]. Estudo de Impacte Ambiental do Novo Aeroporto de Lisboa [Environmental Impact Assessment of the New Lisbon Airport] (Technical report). Vol. I. NAER. 2010. p. 137. Tomo 1 [Tome 1].
- ^ Palma-Ferreira, J. F. (16 April 2010). "Novo aeroporto de Alcochete arranca em 2010" [New airport in Alcochete starts up in 2010]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Saturated Lisbon airport puts Portugal tourism boom at risk". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 7 October 2018.
- ^ Demony, Catarina; Goncalves, Sergio (31 October 2019). "New Lisbon airport gets green light from environment watchdog". Reuters.
- ^ "APA mantém chumbo ambiental ao aeroporto no Montijo" [Portuguese Environment Agency mantains its non-approval of Montijo Airport project]. ECO (in Portuguese). 18 March 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ a b "APA chumba renovação de declaração ambiental do aeroporto do Montijo. ANA vai contestar" [Portuguese Environment Agency rejects the renewal of the environmental assessment notice of Montijo Airport]. ECO (in Portuguese). 30 January 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "ICNF esclarece que novos estudos levaram a chumbo sobre aeroporto no Montijo" [ICNF clarifies which studies led to its rejection of the Montijo Airport project]. ECO (in Portuguese). 30 January 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ Demony, Catarina (2 March 2021). "Plan for new Lisbon airport blocked, government pushes for solution". Reuters.
- ^ "New Lisbon airport location announced". The Portugal News. 14 May 2024.
- ^ "New airport location official". The Portugal News. 27 May 2024.
- ^ Veríssimo, André (7 December 2023). "Porque a ANA insiste no Montijo e os técnicos preferem Alcochete?" [Why does ANA insists on Montijo but the technicians prefer Alcochete?]. ECO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Portugal abandons plans to build new airport on nature reserve following lawsuit" (Press release). ClientEarth. 16 May 2024.
- ^ Neutel, Hugo (29 September 2022). "Economistas e engenheiros defendem aeroporto em Alcochete" [Economists and engineers support an airport in Alcochete]. Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 December 2024.
