Alcochete is selected as the location for the capital’s new international airport

Portugal’s government announced this week that it has selected a former army shooting range site at Alcochete on the South bank of the River Tagus, some 45km from Lisbon, as the location for the capital’s new international airport which has been already christened Luís de Camões International Airport.

The site for the new airport — to eventually replace existing facilities which have already been up to capacity for some years, resulting in applications for new routes and additional flight services being turned down — was recommended by a special independent technical commission as the best option.

However, the new airport will take years to build and will not be fully operational for 10 years. In the meantime, the government will have to look at ways to adapt and improve the current Humberto Delgado International Airport in Lisbon until the new airport is ready.

Until Alcochete is ready, and to allay concerns from the tourism sector, the government will take measures to ease the current restraints at the existing airport in terms of borders control, air traffic control, and the airforce so that Humberto Delgado can accommodate more than the current limit of 38 landings and takeoffs per hour, extending them to 50 per hour.