In May 2024 the Government chose the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, a military firing range east of the Tagus estuary, as the site for a new airport that will replace Humberto Delgado completely. ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the VINCI-owned concessionaire, is preparing the application its concession contract requires.
In July 2026 ANA delivered a technical report describing two runways, a single terminal of about 500,000 m² and a capacity of 56 million passengers a year at opening, with an investment estimated at €7.9–8.9 billion at 2024 prices. It submitted the environmental impact study at the end of that month.
On 28 September 2026 the Government replied with significant questions on demand, Code F aircraft compatibility and the single-terminal strategy, and said its reply was not acceptance of the application. The financial report is due on 16 January 2027 and the complete application by 16 January 2028.
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
Replacing Humberto Delgado
Status: Legally decided
Land and demilitarisation
Status: Legally decided
Environmental approval
Status: Under review
Airport design
Status: Under review
Concession application
Status: Under review
Financing and charges
Status: Officially proposed
Rail link and Third Tagus Crossing
Status: Officially proposed
Road access
Status: Officially proposed
Construction
Nothing decided
No decision, submission or official response has been recorded for this component.
Opening date
Status: Target / forecast
Illustration — not to scale, not the airport design
Lisbon on its hills, the long bridges across the estuary and the flat east bank where the new airport is planned.
Illustration: Luís de Camões Airport Observatory (original work).
Lisbon's current airport, hemmed in by the city, with the Vasco da Gama Bridge crossing the Tagus estuary behind it. The new airport is planned east of the estuary, beyond the far shore. September 2013.
“Lisboa Airport LIS aerial view September 2013 with Ponte Vasco Da Gama”, © Wiki-observer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized to 1,600 px wide.
The July 2026 design at a glance
Proposed by ANA in July 2026 — under Government review since 28 September 2026. Not approved.
- 2runways in the initial phaseStatus: Officially proposed
- about 500,000 m²single passenger terminalStatus: Officially proposed
- 64boarding gatesStatus: Officially proposed
- 72contact boarding bridgesStatus: Officially proposed
- 120aircraft stands (VINCI release)Status: Officially proposed
- 56 millionpassengers a year at openingStatus: Officially proposed
- up to 85 millionpassengers a year, long termStatus: Target / forecast
- 7,900–8,900 € millioninvestment estimate, 2024 pricesStatus: Officially proposed
- from 2035opening target, after tests and certificationStatus: Target / forecast
Lisbon airport passengers, and the capacity planned
Million passengers a year
published figure * derived from published growth rates projection or design capacity, not traffic
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 the documents say
- Status: Under review Fact
APA's public register for process AIA 3982 lists ANA as proponent, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing as licensing authority and Benavente and Montijo as municipalities. On 17 and 18 October 2026 the public-consultation and decision fields were empty. No environmental decision for the current project had been published there.
Source: Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (SIAIA) Details and history: No consultation dates or environmental decision on the APA register
- Status: Target / forecast Target
The complete application, containing the final version of all reports, is to be delivered by 16 January 2028 at the latest.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Details and history: Complete application due by 16 January 2028
- Status: Target / forecast Target
The next step in the application is delivery of the financial report on 16 January 2027, completing the four interim reports.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Details and history: Financial report due on 16 January 2027
- Status: Under review Fact
The Government identified airside matters needing further demonstration: the configuration of the runways and taxiway network and its full compatibility with Code F aircraft, capacity and operational flexibility.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Details and history: Government asks ANA to demonstrate Code F compatibility
- Status: Under review Fact
In its 28 September 2026 response the Government welcomed ANA's acknowledgement that its initial traffic projections were inadequate, but asked for different demand scenarios to test the robustness of the airport's sizing over the concession period.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Details and history: Government asks for different demand scenarios
- Status: Under review Fact
ANA's technical report provides for a single passenger terminal and no longer includes the Terminal 2 or satellite terminal of its initial report. The Government asked ANA to justify this and present a clear scalability strategy, including the pre-installations needed for future expansion and the criteria for moving between phases.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Details and history: Single terminal replaces the earlier Terminal 2 or satellite concept
- Status: Under review Fact
The Government stressed that its response to the technical report does not constitute formal acceptance of the complete application, which will be assessed under the concession contract.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Details and history: The response is not acceptance of the complete application
- Status: Completed and verified Fact
ANA delivered the technical report for the new airport to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing on 16 July 2026. It consolidates the preliminary design studies: functional programme, operating capacity, multimodal connectivity and long-term structural solutions.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Source: ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal (VINCI Airports) Source: VINCI Airports Details and history: Technical report delivered on 16 July 2026
- Status: Completed and verified Fact
In its response to ANA's selected-site and environmental report, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing agreed to placing the airport at the eastern end of the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, the solution that received a conditional favourable environmental declaration in 2010.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Details and history: March 2026: location validated at the eastern end of the firing range
- Status: Completed and verified Fact
ANA delivered the stakeholder consultation report on 16 July 2025, the first of four interim reports that form the complete application. More than 100 bodies were consulted, including airlines, NAV Portugal, ANAC, the Air Force and municipalities.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Details and history: Consultation report delivered: first of four interim reports
- Status: Under review Fact
The Government confirmed that some of the minimum specifications in the concession contract are partly out of date and need updating. Of nine changes proposed by ANA, most were considered pertinent; two remained subject to further technical analysis.
Source: Portuguese Government (XXV Constitutional Government) Details and history: Minimum specifications of the concession need updating
- Status: Legally decided Fact
The Council of Ministers selected the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, a military firing range mostly in the municipality of Benavente, as the site of the new Lisbon airport.
Source: Diário da República Source: Portuguese Government (XXIV Constitutional Government) Details and history: The new airport’s site is the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete
Open questions
When will the full text of the Government’s 28 September 2026 letter be published?
Open
Why it matters
The communiqué summarises the letter; the letter itself is the primary evidence.
What is known so far
The Government said the letter would be available on the IMT website. The observatory had not yet located it at the baseline date.
Source: Portuguese Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing
Sources
Government responds to ANA’s technical report on the new Lisbon airport
Original: Government responds to ANA’s technical report on the new Lisbon airport Link checked
Location of the new airport validated at the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete
Original: Location of the new airport validated at the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete Link checked
Government responds to ANA’s consultation report and publishes it
Original: Government responds to ANA’s consultation report and publishes it Link checked
Council of Ministers Resolution 66/2024 RCM 66/2024
Original: Council of Ministers Resolution 66/2024 Link checked
Related explainers
Dated update
18 October 2026: no consultation dates yet on the environmental register
A dated check of the public record at launch.
Explainer
What has actually been decided about the new Lisbon airport — and what has not
The site is fixed in law. The design, the environmental approval, the money and the opening date are not. A component-by-component guide.
Investigation
The 28 September letter: what the Government sent back to ANA
Demand, Code F, a single terminal and the calendar. The Government’s response to the technical report reopens the design’s biggest questions.