Opinion Article.
It is impossible to ignore the imperative need to replace and definitively decommission the Portela airport.
The citizens of Lisbon - who live, work, and enjoy the city - are exhausted by living next to a large international airport.
The constant overflying of the city by low-flying aircraft and the take-offs and landings at almost every minute cause very significant damage to everyone's health, well-being and quality of life. Among the risks to health and well-being of prolonged exposure to excessive noise from air traffic are increased irritability, sleep disturbance, reduced learning ability in children, and a significant increase in cardiovascular disease.
The levels of noise and air pollutants originating from air traffic, to which the risk of accidents has increased over the years, completely neglecting the affected population. More than 200 thousand citizens in Lisbon cannot sleep, walk in the street, work, learn, rest, play or talk without the uninterrupted annoyance of planes passing by - that's about 600 a day, one every two and a half minutes, sometimes more. It's hell during the day, which becomes unbearable at night, because even then citizens are not spared. In Lisbon there has been an exceptional regime in place since 2003 that authorizes night flights on a limited basis. Not even this one is complied with. And the government is preparing to aggravate this situation by eliminating night restrictions. This martyrdom has no equivalent anywhere in Europe, it is unsustainable and has to end.
More than 50 years ago it was decided to remove Lisbon's airport and build a new one far enough away from the city. Since then, several locations for this infrastructure have been studied, but one consensus has endured: Portela was - is - to be closed. In the current debate about the airport, this premise must be maintained, or else this iniquitous situation will be perpetuated. It is impossible to ignore the imperative need to replace and definitively decommission the Portela airport. It is neither fair nor legal to expose thousands of residents, economic activities, schools, universities and hospitals to such significant risks and impacts on a daily basis. Policy makers who condone this situation, in doing so, are being negligent.
Lisbon needs a new airport that does not affect other populations with unhealthy levels of pollution, does not destroy vital ecological systems, and is well connected to the regional, national and international rail transport network. The new Lisbon airport, built in stages, on land that safeguards the public interest, must allow the progressive but definitive deactivation of Portela airport as soon as possible.
The civic platform Airport Outside, Lisbon Improved demands from political leaders, and in particular from the Government, a plan for the replacement and definitive deactivation of Portela airport, involving immediate measures such as the end of night flights, compliance with the general noise law as well as a halt to the expansion of airport activity underway at Lisbon Airport. The land of the current airport, after it is closed, should remain public, with uses that contribute to improving access to housing, the environment, health, well-being, and quality of life for the population.
Article signed by the civic platform Airport Outside, Lisbon Improvedwhich will be presented this Saturday, November 19th, at 11am, at the Coruchéus Library (Alvalade).
