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Sleep tight, Lisbon: Why this airport banned night flights as Portugal faces a visitor spike

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Evening flights have been an ongoing difficulty in Lisbon, disrupting the sleep of metropolis residents.

Lisbon has banned evening flights after years of protests from native residents.

Now, no planes will likely be getting in or out of Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport between 1 am and 5 am every evening, native time.

This difficult curfew comes after the federal government listened to native residents and environmental teams, in addition to town council.

Evening flights have been an ongoing difficulty in Lisbon, disrupting the sleep of metropolis residents.

Zero, a Portuguese environmental non-governmental organisation, first requested the evening flight ban in the summertime, warning that plane have been inflicting noise and air air pollution.

The federal government had beforehand launched laws to cap the variety of flights that would happen at evening from the airport, however Zero claimed that the airport was in violation of the bounds.

In a two-week interval, Zero had recorded an additional 115 flights, as reported in The Portugal Information.

Miguel Pinto Luz, the minister for infrastructure and housing, made the announcement and described the ban as a “big step ahead”.

The choice got here from a particular working group assembled to look at the problem, and it was publicly shared on the identical day that dozens of residents gathered to protest exterior town airport.

Because the announcement, no dates have been given as to when Lisbon’s evening flight ban will start.

Native campaigners say the evening flight ban could have little impression

Aeroporto Fora, Lisboa Melhora, a bunch of residents who’re for the evening flight ban, stay unconvinced that it’s going to profit native residents’ well being and wellbeing.

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It claims that few flights are scheduled presently and that the announcement doesn’t make clear whether or not it’s a complete ban or whether or not scheduled flights working late from their airport of origin will nonetheless be permitted to land.

Humberto Delgado Airport is situated seven kilometres northeast of Lisbon’s metropolis centre and operates home and worldwide flights. But it’s an outdated airport in want of a significant improve, which may take three years and price €300 million.

Involved residents are fearful that the unique airport will likely be expanded, and so have been campaigning for a brand-new airport exterior town as a substitute of retrofitting the prevailing one.

Is the evening flight ban one other indication that Portugal is scuffling with customer numbers?

The criticism over Lisbon’s worldwide evening flights comes on the identical time a number of Portuguese cities are introducing everlasting vacationer taxes.

In September, Lisbon started charging anybody over the age of 12 a ‘taxa turística’ of €4 per individual per evening for the primary seven nights of your keep.

Likewise, the coastal city of Albufeira in southern Algarve launched its vacationer tax in Might 2024. This tax is charged for company over the age of 12 and prices €2 per individual per evening for prime season from 1 April to 31 October and €1 per individual per evening all through the remainder of the 12 months.

Different cities within the Algarve have additionally adopted go well with. Faro, a metropolis within the Algarve area, will likely be implementing its year-round vacationer tax from March subsequent 12 months, which marks the beginning of the area’s excessive season.

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Guests might want to pay €2 per individual per evening throughout peak season in Faro or €1 per individual per evening within the off-season between November and February. Solely guests over the age of 16 will likely be anticipated to pay, and like Portugal’s different vacationer tax locations, will likely be capped after seven nights.

Portugal is an more and more widespread vacation vacation spot all year long. Actually, there have been 13.1 million guests between January and August this 12 months, which is up 6.7 per cent, in line with the Nationwide Statistics Institute (INE).

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