In defense of the concessionaire ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the executive presidents and the board of directors, respectively Thierry Ligonnière and José LuÃs Arnaut, came to appeal to the deputies, at this Tuesday’s hearing on Thursday in Parliament, to help solve the problems that are being experienced at Humberto Delgado Airport (AHD), in Lisbon, in the border area, where queues accumulate that can last one to two hours to pass.
The situation worsened with the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), decided in the previous government of António Costa, with the replacement of this service by AIMA and the PSP.
“The Assembly of the Republic should be concerned about the quality of public services and ask itself what is happening with border services [no AHD]. The necessary means do not exist and this is a serious problem, which does not depend on us,” warned José Luís Arnaut at the Economy, Public Works and Housing Commission, in following a request from the PCP regarding the privatization of ANA (completed in December 2012) and the last ten years of management.
Arnaut highlighted that this problem is affecting the quality of services provided at the country’s main airport, and that it “kills†tourism that arrives in Portugal outside the Schengen area. Waiting times, he said, can be up to two hours, but are currently on average around one hour.
Thierry Ligionnère agrees with Arnaut’s warning. “One of the biggest difficulties we have to face is border control, in addition to flight delays,†points out the French manager. ANA officials say that the deficiencies in border control result from a lack of resources, they talk about electronic reading equipment not working and closed service counters.
At Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto, “there are no problems with border control or delays†, which means that the airport is very well qualified in terms of service quality, advanced Thierry Ligonnière.
Thierry Ligonnière regretted that NAV is unable to deliver the declared airspace navigation capacity, and explained that at the moment Lisbon airport has 26 departures per hour, which is the main cause of Lisbon’s delays. But the manager highlighted the investments that NAV has made and explained that work is starting to be done so that it can deliver 45 movements per hour, as the Government intends.
CEO criticizes flight delays, but praises TAP administration
The delays in Lisbon are also being caused “by a structural cause that has to do with the flight schedule†of TAP, an “issue that has been addressed by the current administration†, led by Luis Rodrigues. “We have a good relationship with TAP and I think they are doing a good job,†commented Thierry Ligonnière.
Regarding criticism of increases in airport taxes, the ANA CEO assured that these “have no impact on Portuguese airports†. And he added that the concessionaire has been working to attract companies to national airports. “It is necessary to say that we give incentives to companies to fly to Portugal,†he stressed.
And he explained, in response to a question from a deputy, that Ryanair removed a plane from Madeira not because of the fees charged by ANA, but because it is short of planes, given the delays in Boeing deliveries. The manager said that traffic grew 3.1% in Madeira this year.
