Ponte de Sor, Portugal, Oct. 10, (Lusa) - The president of NAV Portugal - Navegação Aérea, Pedro Ângelo, acknowledged on Thursday that storm Kirk, which affected the country this week, caused "some delays" in air traffic, especially in Lisbon, but downplayed the situation.

"There have been some delays, at Lisbon airport in particular, due to adverse weather conditions," as a result of the storm, the chairman of NAV's board of directors told Lusa on the sidelines of the 7th Portugal Air Summit, which began today in Ponte de Sor, in the district of Portalegre.

Asked by Lusa if there were any constraints on air traffic in Portugal due to the passage of Storm Kirk recently, Pedro Ângelo confirmed that "a few minutes of delay were generated" concerning "airline operations".

"To always ensure that our airspace is safe, some regulations have been introduced, therefore some restrictions on the number of movements per hour made at Lisbon airport, as a result of this meteorological constraint," he said.

However, for Pedro Ângelo, there was no "absolutely abnormal situation compared to similar situations in the past" when there were periods of bad weather.

"It's not abnormal. It's happened in the past, and it's essentially about saying that operations in the airspace are safe," he emphasised.

The situation has been "normalising" as the weather conditions have improved: Monday was "probably the day with the greatest impact", but "in recent days we've been improving".

The Portugal Air Summit, which takes place until Saturday at the Ponte de Sor Municipal Aerodrome, is themed "Flying 4 Change".

The Ponte de Sor City Council organises the event in partnership with the Ponte de Sor Commercial and Industrial Association (ACIPS). It aims to serve as a "debate and innovation forum" for the sector, bringing together experts, decision-makers and enthusiasts in this area.

RRL // EA

Lusa/Fim