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Aviation

A yellow Kamov Ka-32 firefighting helicopter of the Portuguese fire brigade in flight against a clear blue sky, with red water tanks along its fuselage

Portugal's Firefighting Pilots May Now Fly Twenty Consecutive Days, and the Consent Has to Come From the Pilot

Portaria n.º 434/2026/1 is the first change in 33 years to the 1993 rulebook on flight and rest time for aerial-work pilots. A 20-day run needs the pilot's express agreement and five consecutive days off at the end. It takes effect on Wednesday.

The Portugal Brief 22 Sep 2026

Baggage dollies, a Groundforce tug and passenger steps lined up on the apron at Lisbon Airport beside a jet bridge, with a TAP aircraft taxiing in the background

Portugal Buys Up to Two More Years for the Airport Ground Handling Licences That Were Due to Lapse on 25 October

The Council of Ministers approved a transitional solution on Thursday for Lisbon, Porto and Faro. It is the fourth extension since March 2025, and it lasts until a tender opened in October 2024 finally produces a licensed operator.

The Portugal Brief 18 Sep 2026

Three easyJet aircraft in orange and white livery parked on an airport apron in late afternoon light, with boarding stairs and ground crew in high-visibility jackets

Five Hundred Flights From Lisbon, Porto and Faro Sit Inside easyJet's October Strike, and the Crew Have Booked a Second One for the Week Before Christmas

Cabin crew voted 188 to nothing on Thursday to stop work from 2 to 6 October and again from 19 to 23 December. The union blames roster instability, unequal treatment against the pilots and pressure to fly overtime.

The Portugal Brief 17 Sep 2026

Passengers waiting with suitcases along the concourse of Terminal 1 at Lisbon Airport, under Portuguese signs for saida and recolha de bagagem

Two Thirds of Portuguese Trips Abroad Now Fall Outside the Summer, While Air Fares Have Outgrown Inflation Since 2016

A travel-agency association puts 65.6 percent of 2025 foreign trips outside July to September, on a record 3.858 million. Spain took 38.8 percent of them, and the first quarter of 2026 ran 30 percent ahead of the year before.

The Portugal Brief 17 Sep 2026

An Azores Airlines Airbus A321neo on the apron at Ponta Delgada at dusk, passengers boarding by airstairs with ground crew and handling equipment around it

Eleven Buyers Registered Interest in the Azores' Airport Ground Arm, Three More Than for the Airline It Serves

SATA Holding said on Tuesday that 11 parties met the 14 September deadline to bid for all of SATA Handling. Azores Airlines, on sale in a separate process, drew eight. Both are conditions of the EU-approved restructuring plan.

The Portugal Brief 15 Sep 2026

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo registered CS-TXA parked on the apron at Lisbon airport under a deep blue sky, with boarding stairs at the rear door

Prosecutors Call the Collapse of the Old TAP Holding Accidental, and Azul's 189 Million Euro Claim Gets Harder

The insolvency administrators said the same thing in May. Azul argues the assets were moved to build a good TAP and a bad one; the holding was left with 23.8 million euros against 1.35 billion in claims.

The Portugal Brief 15 Sep 2026

Passengers queueing at the check-in desks in a Lisbon airport terminal, with easyJet, Transavia and Ryanair signs above the counters and orange barrier posts in front

Porto's Airport Grew Seven Times Faster Than Lisbon's in the First Seven Months of 2026, and Lisbon's Cargo Went Backwards

INE's July air transport release puts national passenger growth at 2.4 percent, half last year's rate. Lisbon managed 1.0 percent and Porto 7.1, the smaller airports fell 1.6 percent, and Lisbon's freight tonnage is now slightly below where it was a year ago.

The Portugal Brief 14 Sep 2026

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