Flight delays at Lisbon airport cut by over 30% with new ATC system

Air traffic delays in Lisbon have fallen by more than 30% since the implementation of the Point Merge System (PMS) a year ago, resulting in cumulative savings of more than 200,000 minutes of delay, NAV Portugal announced on Monday.

“One year after the implementation of the largest reorganisation of the Lisbon Terminal Area  airspace, overall delays in the Lisbon region have fallen by more than 30%, resulting in cumulative savings of over 200,000 minutes of delay thanks to the Point Merge System (PMS) launched by NAV Portugal in May 2024,” according to a statement released today.

Arguing that this new air traffic sequencing model “has transformed the approach to Lisbon airport and the Greater Lisbon airport system,” NAV pointed out that in July 2024, the month the system became “fully operational,” the impact “was immediate” and delays fell by 25% compared to the same month in 2023.

It said that this figure was repeated or exceeded in almost all subsequent months, with delays falling by 38% in April 2025.

NAV Portugal highlights that the PMS’s performance was “even more significant” when considering only delays directly associated with air traffic control — namely “ATC Capacity”, “Aerodrome Capacity” and “Airspace Management” — and disregarding the impact of weather, for example.

“In this regard, there were more significant monthly declines, ranging from 40.5% in the first month of full PMS operation to a reduction of 91.6% last March,” it said.

Quoted in the statement, the chairman of the Board of Directors of NAV Portugal said that the PMS represented “a qualitative leap” in airspace management in the Lisbon region: “The results achieved demonstrate that it is possible to respond to growing demand with greater efficiency, predictability and sustainability,” Pedro Ângelo said.

The PMS replaced the traditional circular holding patterns with more direct, predictable, and efficient trajectories, continuous descents, and optimised speeds. This system allows lateral and vertical separation of traffic flows based on a convergence approach to a single point (“Merge Point”).

Meanwhile, in coordination with airlines, NAV Portugal says it has already implemented or is preparing two phases of optimisation of this system.

The first has been in force since the 15th and has introduced adjustments to altitudes, speeds and routes, focusing on fuel efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

The second optimisation package, scheduled for 2 October this year, will strengthen airspace management with new contingency holding areas and sectoral adjustments to increase “the resilience and flexibility of air traffic control operations”.

At the same time, and in compliance with cabinet rResolution No.58/2025 of 18 March, NAV Portugal is analysing, in conjunction with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), “a new configuration for northbound take-offs, to mitigate the impact of noise on the population through a technically feasible solution that balances operational efficiency and environmental sustainability”.