Lisbon, Sept. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary announced four new routes in Portugal for the winter in Lisbon on Thursday and reiterated his criticism of the TAP sale model and the new airport process.
The company's new routes start from Porto, Faro and Funchal, leaving out Lisbon because, according to Ryanair's CEO, ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal has reached maximum capacity in the country's capital.
However, O'Leary said that Lisbon airport has the capacity for more traffic, if they were granted the “slots” (take-off and landing authorisations) that TAP doesn't use, and stressed that the solution of Montijo airport as the new airport infrastructure in Lisbon would be more viable than Alcochete, as it would be operational more quickly.
Regarding the privatisation of TAP, the CEO defended the sale of 100% of the Portuguese airline, pointing out that other European national airlines have also been sold in their entirety.
Porto will have connections to Gothenburg (Sweden) and Warsaw (Poland) this winter, Faro will have flights to Krakow (Poland), and Madeira will have a connection to Shannon (Ireland).
Michael O'Leary called on the Portuguese government to ‘urgently expand’ the airport's capacity or to put an end to the ‘artificial restrictions’ at Lisbon airport, and said that not making slots available was ‘just a way of protecting TAP’ from competition.
The head of the Irish airline also pointed to the lack of staff at Lisbon's border control, which generates queues and delays that are ‘unacceptable’ at an airport where its electronic gates (digital border control) are switched off.
Regarding the new airport in Alcochete, the CEO emphasised that the announcement that the infrastructure ‘will be delayed until 2035 is simply unacceptable’, and added that ‘Lisbon cannot take 12 years to grow’.
‘We believe that Montijo (airport) could be opened in two years,’ which would increase the number of passengers travelling to Lisbon, said O'Leary.
The head of Ryanair also disputes that the works at Lisbon airport won't be able to accommodate additional traffic, a situation which, he says, is the position that ANA defends.
‘We think it can, mainly because our traffic is efficient,’ he said.
AJR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
