Each card shows the most recent recorded decision, submission or official response for one part of the project. An official response or a submission is not an approval.
Legally decided: 3 · Under review: 3 · Officially proposed: 3 · Nothing decided: 1 · Target / forecast: 1
Location
Status: Legally decided
Placement at the eastern end of the range validated
A response within the concession procedure, confirming the placement inside the legally selected site. Not an environmental approval.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government)
1 earlier record
- — Site selected: Campo de Tiro de Alcochete Status: Legally decided
Replacing Humberto Delgado
Status: Legally decided
Humberto Delgado to be fully replaced
The future of the Humberto Delgado site after closure has not been decided in any document reviewed.
Source: Diário da República Source: Portuguese Government (XXIV Constitutional Government)
Land and demilitarisation
Status: Legally decided
Demilitarisation spending authorised
Funds demilitarisation work. Land release is scheduled in phases by 2029 (a target).
Source: Diário da República Source: ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal (VINCI Airports)
2 earlier records
- — Replacement firing range location announced Status: Officially proposed
- — Preventive land-use measures Status: Legally decided
Environmental approval
Status: Under review
Environmental impact study submitted
No public-consultation dates and no environmental decision on APA's register as of 18 October 2026. No environmental permit should be assumed.
Source: Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (SIAIA) Source: ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal (VINCI Airports)
Airport design
Status: Under review
Government response to the technical report
Asks for demand scenarios, Code F demonstration and a phased expansion strategy, and for justification of the single terminal. Expressly not acceptance of the application.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing
1 earlier record
- — Technical report submitted Status: Officially proposed
Concession application
Status: Under review
Concession application: interim stage
Three of four interim reports delivered; financial report due 16 January 2027; complete application by 16 January 2028. Not accepted.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government)
Financing and charges
Status: Officially proposed
About €7 billion of debt and progressive charge increases at Humberto Delgado are proposals. The financial report is due on 16 January 2027.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government)
Rail link and Third Tagus Crossing
Status: Officially proposed
No approved alignment, environmental decision or construction contract for the airport rail link or the Third Tagus Crossing was identified.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Source: Infraestruturas de Portugal
Road access
Status: Officially proposed
Ownership, financing and delivery dates of each road scheme have not been confirmed.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government)
Construction
Nothing decided
No decision, submission or official response has been recorded for this component.
Opening date
Status: Target / forecast
A target that depends on the environmental decision, the concession application, financing and certification.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government)
Every decision and official step
| Date | Step | Institution | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concession application: interim stage | Ministries of Finance and of Infrastructure and Housing | Concession procedure step | Status: Under review | |
| Government response to the technical report | Ministries of Finance and of Infrastructure and Housing | Ministerial response (not an approval) | Status: Under review | |
| Environmental impact study submitted AIA 3982 | ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal | Submission by proponent | Status: Under review | |
| Financing plan presented | ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal | Government announcement | Status: Officially proposed | |
| Opening target announced | Portuguese Government | Government announcement | Status: Target / forecast | |
| Rail link announced | Portuguese Government | Government announcement | Status: Officially proposed | |
| Road plan announced | Portuguese Government | Government announcement | Status: Officially proposed | |
| Technical report submitted | ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal | Submission by proponent | Status: Officially proposed | |
| Demilitarisation spending authorised RCM 119/2026 | Council of Ministers | Council of Ministers resolution | Status: Legally decided | |
| Placement at the eastern end of the range validated | Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing | Ministerial response (not an approval) | Status: Legally decided | |
| Replacement firing range location announced | Ministry of National Defence | Government announcement | Status: Officially proposed | |
| Preventive land-use measures RCM 30/2026 | Council of Ministers | Council of Ministers resolution | Status: Legally decided | |
| Humberto Delgado to be fully replaced RCM 66/2024 | Council of Ministers | Council of Ministers resolution | Status: Legally decided | |
| Site selected: Campo de Tiro de Alcochete RCM 66/2024 | Council of Ministers | Council of Ministers resolution | Status: Legally decided |
The approval path: done, under review, still to come
- 14 May 2024Site chosen by Council of Ministers resolutionDone
- 16 July 2025Interim report 1: stakeholder consultationDone
- 20 March 2026Placement at the eastern end validatedDone
- 16 July 2026Technical report deliveredDone
- 31 July 2026Environmental impact study delivered to APADone
- 28 September 2026Government questions the design (not an acceptance)Under review
- 16 January 2027Interim report 4: financial report dueScheduled
- by 16 January 2028Complete application dueScheduled
- —Public consultation and environmental decision (APA)No date set
- —Acceptance of the complete application under the concessionNo date set
- 2029Construction (target 2029–2033)Target only
- from 2035Opening (target: from 2035)Target only
What counts as an approval
- Legal decision: a published legal instrument, such as a Council of Ministers resolution.
- Environmental decision: APA’s declaration at the end of process AIA 3982 — not yet issued.
- Concession acceptance: acceptance of the complete application under the concession contract — not yet given.
- Not approvals: submissions by ANA, ministerial responses to interim reports, and announced targets.
Questions answered
Who is building and running the airport?
ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, a VINCI Airports company that holds the concession for Portugal’s main airports, is the project proponent. Under the concession contract it must submit a complete application that the Government will assess. No construction contractors had been identified at the baseline date.
Source: Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (SIAIA) Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal (VINCI Airports) Permalink: Who is building and running the airport?
What is the ‘complete application’?
It is the package ANA must deliver under its concession contract to build the new airport. It is built from four interim reports — consultation (July 2025), selected site and environment, technical (July 2026) and financial (due 16 January 2027) — and must be delivered in final form by 16 January 2028 at the latest.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Permalink: What is the ‘complete application’?
What did the Government say on 28 September 2026?
It praised the technical work but asked ANA for alternative demand scenarios, further demonstration of runway and taxiway configuration and Code F compatibility, and a clear expansion strategy, including a justification for dropping the earlier second terminal or satellite. It stressed that the response is not formal acceptance of the application.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permalink: What did the Government say on 28 September 2026?
What happens next, and when?
On the published calendar: the financial report on 16 January 2027 and the complete application by 16 January 2028. The environmental assessment runs separately at APA, with no consultation dates published at the baseline date. These are scheduled steps, not guarantees.
Source: Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (SIAIA) Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permalink: What happens next, and when?
Is a ministerial response the same as an approval?
No. The concession procedure does not provide for a formal decision on interim reports. The Government’s responses of March and September 2026 are comments and requests; the binding decisions come later, on the complete application and in the environmental decision.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permalink: Is a ministerial response the same as an approval?
Is this an official website?
No. It is an independent observatory, not affiliated with ANA, VINCI Airports or the Portuguese Government. It uses no official logos and links every claim to a source.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permalink: Is this an official website?
How do I report an error?
Use the contact form, or the ‘Report an error’ link at the foot of any record. Material corrections are published on the corrections page with the original statement, the correction and the date; nothing is silently erased.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permalink: How do I report an error?