TAP reckons Lisbon airport works will cost it €12M
TAP estimates that the loss of revenue associated with the works at Lisbon airport in the first half of 2020 is going to be 12 million euros.
Portuguese flag-carrier, TAP, estimates that the loss of revenue associated with the works at Lisbon airport in the first half of 2020 is going to be €12 million and foresees the possibility of constraints, such as flight cancellations or delays.
On November 19th, the airport manager ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal announced that work will begin on creating two rapid runway exits at Lisbon airport in January, which will mean no take offs and landings between 23:30 and 05:30 until June.
The head of TAP told Lusa that the schedule and period of work recently announced were coordinated among the various entities and airlines and that as a result “no slots have been allocated during the planned runway closure period: 23:30 to 05:30, local time, every night from Sunday to Thursday, between January 6th and June 30th.
As a result, TAP “could not plan any flights to operate within those hours but has reorganised its network in order to accommodate this change in the best possible way and reduce, although not completely eliminate, the financial impact that it entails for the airline,” Ramiro Sequeira said.
The airline added, however, that it agrees with the need for works at Lisbon airport, despite the fact that they have “reservations about the technical solution” of the two fast runway exits that will be built – a work that ANA told them is a first phase – because given technical issues, such as the configuration of their aircraft, for example, “it will be difficult to use the fast exit of runway 03 the most commonly used one “.
“We agree that there has to be work, there has to be the right work”, he said.
TAP “proposed a reduction in the duration of the night closure of the airport (thus relieving the losses by the operators), while at the same time extending the deadline for completion of the works, in order to also allow the execution of the second phase [of the works], that ANA has recognized as necessary to obtain greater efficiency in landing and take-off operations at Lisbon airport,” but “this proposal was not accepted” by the airport manager, Ramiro Sequeira said.
