The Portuguese Government has approved a set of measures to reduce the impact of noise generated by Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon on the populations living near the infrastructure. One of these measures is the Less Noise Programme (Programa Menos Ruído), which will provide funding to residents to improve the insulation of their homes in order to minimise the noise caused by aircraft. The other measure will impose restrictions on night-time flights at Lisbon Airport.
During the Council of Ministers meeting held at the beginning of March, the Government approved the creation of the Less Noise Programme, aimed at financially supporting acoustic insulation works in homes affected by aircraft noise from Lisbon Airport.
This initiative "will allow interventions on façades, windows, and frames of residential buildings sensitive to noise," according to the statement issued by the AD Executive. The Government also clarified that the programme's implementation will be the responsibility of the Municipal Councils of Lisbon, Loures, Vila Franca de Xira, and Almada, which will be in charge of launching the tenders for access to the funding.
The new Less Noise Programme will have a total investment of €10 million, financed through the Environmental Fund, and will be implemented between 2025 and 2026. "The distribution of funding will be proportional to the number of affected buildings in each municipality, based on noise level mapping to be carried out by the airport management entity in collaboration with the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering," the document further explains.
Government seeks to impose restrictions on night-time flights in Lisbon
In addition to this programme, the Council of Ministers has instructed the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), the aviation sector regulator, to implement restrictions on night-time operations at Lisbon Airport (formerly known as Portela Airport), as recommended by the Night Flights Working Group, whose final report was submitted in July 2022.
The restrictions on night-time flights at Lisbon Airport include:
- Limitations on the operation of noisier aircraft between 23:00 and 07:00;
- A hard curfew with no available slots between 01:00 and 05:00;
- Implementation of new aeronautical procedures to reduce noise.
The Government also intends to assess alternatives to the current northbound departure routes at the airport, aiming to reduce the number of people exposed to high noise levels. It further notes that "the implementation of these restrictions will be carried out in strict compliance with all applicable national and European legislation, in close coordination with the European Commission."
The Government thus reaffirms its commitment to minimising the impact of noise caused by Humberto Delgado Airport’s location in a densely populated area, ensuring an improvement in citizens’ quality of life until the transition to Luís de Camões Airport in the Alcochete Firing Range."
It is worth noting that the municipal councils of Lisbon, Loures, and Vila Franca de Xira have been highly critical of the increasing noise levels at the airport, which has been breaking passenger records year after year.
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