Government ‘aware, concerned’ at situation in Lisbon airport

  • Lusa
  • 5 July 2022

"The government is aware and concerned about the turbulence that has affected European airports, with effects also on Portuguese airports," said the Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday.

The Portuguese government said on Tuesday it was “aware and concerned” about the situation in airports, maintaining “permanent contact” with ANAC and airports manager ANA, to solve the problems identified, according to a response to consumer watchdog Deco, to which Lusa had access.

The letter from the ministry of infrastructure and housing was sent to Deco after the consumer protection association urged the government and the national civil aviation authority (ANAC) to intervene to safeguard the interests of passengers affected by flight cancellations in Lisbon in recent days, whose right to assistance “is not being applied”.

“The government is aware and concerned about the turbulence that has affected European airports, with effects also on Portuguese airports,” reads the response from the ministry led by Pedro Nuno Santos.

The government said it is in “permanent contact with ANAC” so that “the necessary steps can be taken to implement all legal measures, with a view to improving the conditions offered to passengers at critical moments”, recalling that a contingency group has been operating since June with the aim of identifying measures to be taken to improve operations, which has met regularly.

In the same vein, the infrastructure ministry said it is also in permanent contact with ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, “to signal and find solutions to the problems identified, particularly with regard to the service provided to waiting passengers.

At the origin of these situations are staff shortages, strikes and other aggravating external factors, namely climatic, related to Covid-19 or unforeseen circumstances.

The government also recalled that the contingency plan for the summer in national airports started on Monday.

Speaking to Lusa news agency, the coordinator of the legal department of Deco – the consumer defence association said that “this is not a new situation, as disruptions and problems at [Lisbon] airport, unfortunately, have been increasingly constant”.

“What concerns us are the responses that are always being given to passengers and, above all, the fact that they have rights that are not applied and that it is necessary to have contingency plans prepared either by the airport infrastructure, or by the carriers themselves, to guarantee the right to assistance,” he said.

According to Paulo Fonseca, following “several dozens” of complaints from passengers received over the weekend, the association sent letters to the ministry of infrastructure and housing and the national civil aviation authority (ANAC) today, calling for “a swift and effective intervention to protect the interests of passengers through all mechanisms”.

“Over the weekend we received dozens of complaints, which demonstrates that passengers are having difficulty exercising their own rights,” he told Lusa, specifying that the airport in question is Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, as “there have been no complaints regarding other airports”.

In this sense, in the letter sent to the ministry of Pedro Nuno Santos, Deco stresses the “need to impose on both carriers and airport infrastructure, the implementation of contingency plans at different levels, depending on the degree of impact on passengers and the nature and duration of the disruptive situation”, in order to “ensure assistance and other consumer rights”.

“These plans should also define measures aimed at the existence of structures and mechanisms for support and information appropriate to the needs felt by passengers when facing situations of delay or cancellation of flights,” reads the missive, to which Lusa had access.

The aim is that, in case of need, “these contingency mechanisms are immediately activated and have, for example, a set of hotel establishments prepared to receive passengers”.

Regarding the right to compensation, the coordinator of Deco’s legal department explains that this can range from 250 euros to 600 euros, “depending on the type of flight and the distance”, and states that it is not applicable in some situations, “particularly in the event of extraordinary circumstances that cannot be attributed to the carrier itself, such as bad weather, a terrorist attack, a war or the situation experienced last year with the pandemic, with the imposition of flight cancellations”.

Paulo Fonseca stated that he was particularly “concerned” because “this is already a recurring situation”, which makes “consumers afraid of travelling by plane because they do not know if they will be able to get a flight in time or be able to board”. He warned that if it is already possible to “foresee that the summer will be disruptive, it is also known that at Christmas and the new year the same situation will repeat itself”.