Lisbon Airport's Northbound Departures Shift to a New Track by the End of the Year, Meant to Spare About 35,000 Residents From Noise

Aircraft taking off northbound from Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport will follow new departure routes "by the end of the year", the Ministério das Infraestruturas e Habitação (Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing) told Público on Wednesday. The aim: less noise in Loures and Vila Franca de Xira, where routes introduced in May 2024 set off a wave of complaints. According to the ministry, the change should cut the number of residents affected by noise by about 35,000.

Público reports that noise from northbound departures affects more than 200,000 people in Lisbon, Loures and Vila Franca de Xira. The ministry said a proposal submitted by NAV Portugal, the air navigation service provider, in the summer of 2025 "is already approved" by the Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (ANAC, the civil aviation authority).

What is changing

The redesign was ordered by Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 58/2025 (Council of Ministers Resolution 58/2025), published on 18 March 2025. It told NAV, working with ANAC, to study alternatives to the airport's take-off routes "with a view to reducing the impact of noise on the population", and to deliver the study within three months.

The May 2024 change was NAV's Point Merge System, the biggest reorganisation of Lisbon's airspace to date. In a statement in May 2025 NAV said it was analysing a new configuration for northbound departures with ANAC, in line with the resolution.

NAV's chairman, Pedro Ângelo, described the plan to Lusa in March 2026. Aircraft leaving from runway 02 would be moved slightly to the west and required to climb more steeply, so that they pass over residential areas at a greater height. "There is always an equation that brings benefits for some and harm for others," he said, adding that NAV could not guarantee there would be no impact on some communities.

No official map of the new tracks has been published, and nor has a start date. NAV's public consultations page listed no open process on 21 October, and its newsroom carries no statement on the change. Ângelo had said the process involves a public consultation; whether one took place, and which neighbourhoods will see more aircraft, is not yet public.

Why it matters

The airport's noise record is under pressure. In January 2026 the head of the Inspeção-Geral da Agricultura, do Mar, do Ambiente e do Ordenamento do Território (IGAMAOT, the environment inspectorate) told Parliament that ANA, the airport operator, had been fined the legal minimum of 12,000 euros for failing parts of its 2018 to 2024 noise action plan, Observador reported. The Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA, the Portuguese Environment Agency) also rejected ANA's proposed plan for 2025 to 2029.

Help with soundproofing

The same 2025 resolution created the Programa Menos Ruído (Less Noise Programme): 10 million euros from the Environmental Fund to pay for better windows, frames and shutter boxes in permanent homes in Lisbon, Loures, Vila Franca de Xira and Almada. A June 2026 amendment spread the money over 2026 and 2027 and gave the four councils until 30 December 2026 to open their calls for applications.

• Lisbon approved its rules in July 2026, with a budget of 2,798,730 euros. Payments are refunds of up to 1,000, 800 or 600 euros per home, depending on noise priority, according to Observador.
• Almada will pay up to 5,000 euros per home on listed streets under the approach path, as we reported in September.
• Loures and Vila Franca de Xira: watch the council's website for the call, due by 30 December.

The airport will stay in use for years yet: when it ordered the route study in March 2025, the Government did not expect the replacement, the Luís de Camões airport at Alcochete, to open before 2034 (see our report on its design).