The environmental association Zero on Tuesday defended the ban on night flights at Lisbon airport between 00:30 and 05:00 from the summer of 2025, warning of noise pollution caused by aircraft.
In a statement, Zero said that in the last two weeks, 115 flights were registered at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, above the permitted limit.
According to a 2004 ordinance, a maximum of 91 air movements per week and 26 per day is established between midnight and 6 a.m.
The ordinance also establishes that the authorization of air movements during the night is subject to the noise levels of the aircraft used.
In the last two weeks, Zero recorded, based on public information made available to ANA Aeroportos, 139 air movements (48 more than permitted) in the week between August 12 and 18 and 158 air movements (67 more) in the week between August 19 and 25, violating the limits established in the legislation that paved the way for exceptions in 2004,” Zero points out.
The environmental association also indicates that, On the 20th of this month, 33 air movements were recorded between midnight and 6:00 a.m., “transgressing the daily maximum allowed by the exception to the general law.”.
“The latest known figure on the overall value of fines applied in these cases is only 52,400 euros in 2022, which is insignificant compared to the 206 million euros in costs to public health that were determined in 2019 by the Working Group of the Assembly of the Republic in the field of the Study and Evaluation of Night Traffic at Humberto Delgado Airport,” says Zero.
Given this situation, the association advocates a set of measures, specifically the Establishment of a period without scheduled flights between 00:30 and 05:00, “with flexibility for delayed movements” It can happen until half past midnight.”
Given the seriousness of the situation, Zero wants the authorities to implement the conclusions of the working group that analysed night flights at Lisbon Airport, ensuring that, as a first step, in the summer of 2025, landing and take-off operations at Lisbon Airport will be completely prohibited at Humberto Delgado Airport in the period between half past midnight and five in the morning,” the note highlights.
Zero also defends the “obligation, on the part of the infrastructure manager, to Monthly publication of the number of people affected by nighttime noise levels above 45 decibels and the definition of a strategy for compliance with the noise law.
The association also intends to “apply a noise tax to flights, based on their noise emissions”, as well as to review fines for violations of the legislation.”
“According to Zero’s counter, present on the zero.ong page, the The costs of not closing the Humberto Delgado airport are already close to 10 billion euros since 2015, the year in which the infrastructure should have been closed,” the association said.
Source: Observadora
