Lisbon, Jan. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - Last year, the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) imposed fines of €3.5 million on airlines for violating slots and nighttime restrictions at Lisbon airport, according to the authority's president.
According to Ana Vieira da Mata, who spoke today at a hearing of the Environment and Energy Committee, the regulator has been carrying out "rigorous" monitoring of these matters.
"As for enforcement, I am referring specifically to proceedings brought for violations of slots and night-time restrictions," she said, explaining that each case "concerns several breaches" and "involves the individual verification of each flight" to analyse "the existence or otherwise of force majeure," she said.
According to the official, "202 cases were brought in 2023, 208 cases in 2024 and 149 cases in 2025", and with regard to completed cases and the total amount of fines imposed, "34 cases were completed in 2023, corresponding to, roughly speaking, around €270,000 in fines," while in 2024, 246 cases were concluded, corresponding to around €8.8 million in fines, and in 2025, 150 cases were concluded, resulting in around €3.5 million.
Responding to questions from MPs, the president of ANAC pointed out that "the airport's capacity corresponds to the average number of movements per hour", noting that the average is 38.
However, "it is expected that there will be more than 38 movements per hour at certain times of the day and less than 38 movements per hour at other times", with an average of 38 movements per hour, i.e. if there are more than 38 movements in one hour, this will have to be compensated for in other hours.
This does not mean, he noted, "that the number of movements has not increased since then"; it has increased “significantly”, he stressed, pointing out that "the capacity utilisation rate at Humberto Delgado Airport has risen from 65% in 2015 to 93% in 2023".
"But, I stress, respecting the average figure I mentioned of 38 movements per hour on average," she said, adding that "at a highly congested airport, it is important to minimise delays to avoid snowball effects".
According to the ANAC president, these breaches are motivated by several factors, including delays throughout the day, weather issues and inefficiencies.
ALN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
