The New Lisbon Airport and Territorial Planning in Portugal

Abstract

In locating a new Lisbon airport, the demand for its services and its integration with other modes of transport cannot fail to be decisive factors. All indications, between the two main options under consideration, point to its location in Ota, which avoids congestion at the crossing of the Tagus River—since nearly all demand is from the north—and is directly served by the main road and rail axes (with the latter being particularly significant). This is also a much cheaper solution. However, considering costs in light of the country’s real priorities suggests maintaining the Portela airport for a few more decades, which is still far from saturation and, in any case, has a location much more favorable, in terms of territorial planning, than an airport that would be built in Rio Frio.