IATA's Rafael Schvartzman Flags Humberto Delgado as Portugal's Biggest Summer Aviation Risk Citing 51% Eurocontrol Punctuality Read

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers that infrastructure constraints at Aeroporto Humberto Delgado (Lisbon Airport) are the single biggest risk for Portuguese aviation this summer, the trade body's regional vice-president for Europe Rafael Schvartzman told Lusa in an interview published on Tuesday 2 June. The warning lands as the European peak season opens against a backdrop of high demand, the rollout of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) and continuing pressure on jet-fuel costs.

“I think that the biggest risk Portugal has this summer is the infrastructure limitations, specifically Lisbon Airport,” Schvartzman said. “Humberto Delgado is extremely limited in terms of capacity. That's visible.” To back the diagnosis, the IATA executive pointed to Eurocontrol's 2025 punctuality report, which ranked Humberto Delgado the worst performer on departures among Europe's 30 largest airports, with on-time performance just below 51%.

Schvartzman framed the punctuality reading as a direct symptom of capacity overload rather than a one-off operational glitch, arguing that the quality of service offered at Lisbon was no longer matching what passengers and airlines should expect. The comments come a week after IATA presented its Portuguese-aviation economic-impact assessment at the AED Days conference in Oeiras — and at a point where the regulator and the government have started to debate whether Portugal could temporarily suspend EES biometric checks if queues spiral.

The numbers behind the warning

IATA's economic study pegs the contribution of air transport to Portuguese GDP at US$20.2 billion — roughly €17.3 billion — equivalent to 7.1% of national output, and supporting 335,000 jobs. The body adds that 84% of passenger departures from Portugal are international and that 85% of those international flights stay inside Europe. Tourism, which leans heavily on air arrivals, contributes around 12% of GDP on Schvartzman's reckoning, which is why an underperforming hub airport is treated as a macroeconomic risk and not just an operational one.

The Sistema de Entrada/Saída (EES, Entry/Exit System) replaced traditional passport stamps with digital biometric records when it came online in October 2025 in phased form across the Schengen area, and Schvartzman warned that the rollout has compounded the squeeze at Portuguese borders. Lisbon Airport reinforced human and technical resources on its non-Schengen border lanes from Friday in an attempt to bring waiting times back under control.

Fuel: no summer shortage but ticket prices already moving

Schvartzman ruled out a jet-fuel shortage in Europe this summer despite earlier IATA alerts in April that flagged the possibility of cancellations through to the end of May. “For now, it seems the summer will run smoothly in terms of access to fuel supply,” he said, while noting that fuel-availability forecasts only have a reliable horizon of four to six weeks and that the picture could turn in the fourth quarter.

The Agência Europeia para a Segurança da Aviação (EASA, European Union Aviation Safety Agency) has already issued guidance allowing US-origin Jet A fuel to be used in European operations if needed, an option that could be activated late in the year. Schvartzman pointed to Spain's refining capacity as one reason the European market is better positioned now than it looked in April, and noted that mandatory EU strategic reserves are also helping to smooth the supply-demand balance.

Even without a shortage, fuel costs are biting. The IATA executive said that jet fuel previously accounted for 25%-30% of airline operating costs but now weighs in above 40% — and as much as 45%-46% — adding that hedging can absorb only part of the rise. Asked whether ticket prices were already moving up, his answer was unambiguous: “I think they are already rising. Probably, yes.”