- Traffic in Portuguese airports grew by 14.2% to 44.477 million passengers in 2016, including over 22 million passengers in Lisbon
- Traffic reached 9.4 million passengers in Porto, 7.6 million in Faro, 3.1 million in Madeira and 1.9 million in the Azores
- A Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government and ANA for an integrated solution to expand airport capacity in the Lisbon area
2016 was yet another year of records for Portuguese airports. In total, 44.477 million passengers, a new high resulting from an overall growth of 14.2%. All airports grew vis-à-vis the previous year. The highest growth rate was in Faro Airport with an increase of 18.5%.
Humberto Delgado Airport, in Lisbon, registered the highest number of passengers, reaching 22.4 million, up 11.7% from 2015. Since the privatization of ANA, Lisbon Airport grew by 7.2 million passengers. It should be noted that throughout 2016, every single month constituted a record in the number of passengers at Humberto Delgado Airport.
Since 2013, ANA traffic grew at the highest level in Europe
Growth is based on several factors, through the joint efforts of VINCI Airports and ANA marketing teams to attract new airlines and new routes and to reach more destinations while, at the same time, investing in the improvement of customer service in airports, both operationally and from the user’s perspective, improving conditions, creating new services and new areas that allow a better user experience with more quality.
In 2016, 69.2 million euros were invested in Portuguese airports by the concession holder on operational improvements and on new commercial areas, with the installation and upgrade of new shops and with the creation of new passenger circulation paths and more-comfortable and practical common areas to improve passenger experience. 2017 will be another year with strong investment, amounting to €71.1 million.
The Montijo solution to support traffic growth in Lisbon
The Concession Agreement between the Government and ANA provides for the start of the process regarding the expansion of Lisbon’s airport capacity.
According to the Concession Agreement, ANA suggested an alternative to develop Lisbon airport’s capacity. The slots request and allocation process in Lisbon shows the continuation of strong growth in 2017, confirming the urgency in the development of measures to expand this airport capacity.
As a consequence, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between the Government and ANA, establishing an integrated solution which includes a new Master Plan for Humberto Delgado Airport to extend it to its maximum capacity and enhance its competitiveness as an international hub, and the civilian use of Montijo air base for complementary point to point capacity.
The Master Plan that is currently being developed by ANA, together with the other stakeholders, will allow to expand the airport system’s capacity while accompanying the airlines’ strategic development.
As for the complementary point to point capacity, the Government recognizes Montijo as the most advantageous solution for additional airport capacity, and ANA commits to develop the required additional studies, in collaboration with various entities, such as municipalities and the Air Force.
These studies will, for example, refer to the need to guarantee both military and civilian use in Montijo, an analysis of environmental impacts, and the identification of the necessary accessibilities to guarantee the correct integration of the infrastructure.
Several studies have already been carried out and all of them, including the technical studies commissioned by ANA or NAV, concluded in favour of Montijo’s advantages versus alternative options. A working group established by the Government also concluded in favour of the validity and capacity of that solution in terms of civil air navigation.
Strong growth for all airports:
- Lisbon 22.4 million passengers (+ 11,7%)
- Porto 9.4 million passengers (+ 16%)
- Faro 7.6 million passengers (+ 18,5%)
- Madeira 3.1 million passengers (+ 15%)
- Azores 1.9 million passengers (+ 18%).
2016 ended with 66 airlines operating in Portuguese airports, vis-à-vis the 58 recorded at the end of 2015. The number of destinations was 149 and it were established 27 new routes.
https://www.ana.pt/en/corporate/2016-o-melhor-ano-dos-aeroportos-portugueses