The Minister of Infrastructure said this Wednesday that it was “obvious to everyone” that there are structural and economic problems at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, but downgraded AirHelp’s “rating”, which classified it as the worst.
“It is obvious to everyone that we have problems at the Humberto Delgado airport. […] opportunistic and structural,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, who is being heard in Parliament at the request of the PSD, to clarify the problems at Lisbon and Porto airports.
However, the minister devalued the classification of the German site AirHelp, which annually publishes a world ranking of airports, in which the airport. Humberto Delgado in Lisbon is ranked 132nd with an overall score of 5.76 on 10 points among 132 airports ranked, that is, last.
The official pointed out that the “rating” was somewhat flawed and outdated, a position already defended by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal.
Pedro Nuno Santos also said that it is “clear” that TAP is the airline with the most flight cancellations in Portela because “TAP’s presence at the airport is unmatched by any other company.”
The Minister of Infrastructure also added that the average number of cancellations at Lisbon Airport from July 1 to July 7 was 4.5%, while at TAP it was 2.8%.
“We have problems at the Humberto Delgado airport. […]we have problems with the largest airline that operates at this airport, however, we are very far from the reality that the vast majority of companies and airports across Europe face,” added Pedro Nuno Santos.
The Pedro Nuno Santos hearing comes at a time when European airports are canceling several flights daily due to staff shortages, strikes and other aggravating external factors, namely Covid-19 related weather or unforeseen events. In Portugal, Humberto Delgado Airport has been particularly hard hit, with dozens of flights canceled daily over the past week.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
