The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, told journalists that the options were to either keep Humberto Delgado airport as the main airport and Montijo as a complement, or to go with a solution of Montijo progressively acquiring the status of main airport and Humberto Delgado of complement, a third choice sees Alcochete fully replace Humberto Delgado airport, a fourth keeps the original airport as the main option with Santarém supporting this and finally the option of using Santarém to completely replace the existing airport.

Pedro Nuno Santos added that the technical committee of the new Lisbon airport, which has responsibility for presenting a strategic environmental assessment study with conclusions by the end of 2023, will be able to study more locations, in addition to Montijo, Alcochete and Santarém, highlighting that in 50 years 17 locations have already been analysed.

The technical commission will be able to “include, if it deems it necessary, other locations in the strategic environmental assessment”, in addition to those “that are known”, he said, recalling that “all the work that has been done before over the last few years will also be used”.

The Government has also approved a resolution that determines the strategic environmental assessment to choose the location of the new Lisbon airport, through an independent technical committee that will have a general coordinator.

In addition, a draft law was approved that clarifies the intervention of municipalities in the “procedures for the construction, expansion or modification of an aerodrome, in order to clarify that in the prior assessment procedure for the feasibility of the construction of airports, the opinions of the municipal councils are not binding”, said André Moz Caldas, Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Lisbon airport needs works “now”

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing also told journalists, at the end of the Council of Ministers, that the Humberto Delgado airport, in Lisbon, needs works “now”, not allowing for an increase in its capacity, but at least operational fluidity and passenger comfort, taking into account that the new airport “will take time”.

As this initiative implies an investment in changing the basis of the concession with ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, owned by the Vinci group, Pedro Nuno Santos indicated that it is within this framework that it is possible to “reach a value” for this investment, reaching an “understanding” with the dealership.