New International and Transit Terminal revitalises Lisbon Airport

The new International and Transit Terminal at Lisbon Airport opened yesterday, 17 July. This Terminal represents an important step towards the conclusion of the Lisbon Airport Development Plan, which was launched in 2007 with the opening of Terminal 2.

Fulfilling its mission – to manage Lisbon Airport in an efficient and innovative way with a view to optimising its capacity and ensuring a sustainable business growth – ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal, SA is implementing an ambitious expansion plan that was first launched about six years ago, involving a total investment of more than 350 million euros. Its main objective is to increase the capacity of the airport, so as to better serve all its customers, whether airline companies or passengers.

The change in the operating paradigm for TAP, from the former point-to-point based traffic, to transfer traffic, associated with its continuous growth, has determined the need for deep structural changes in the airport in order to accommodate what is now one of its main traffic segments, as well as one of its most important levers of growth.

All these changes have been taking place within the scope of a phased program, growth in traffic, particularly transfer traffic, being accommodated through the use of temporary solutions.

The opening of the new International and Transit Terminal is a key element of the ongoing development plan, insofar as it corresponds to the construction of areas that are required for the processing of transfer passengers and the expansion of the baggage system, in line with the capacity of the Airport’s various subsystems, already expanded during previous stages of the Development Plan.

With the completion of this Terminal, new passport control areas will be opened for both arrivals and departures, as well as a new security screening area for transfer passengers, new arrival gates for passengers from aircraft parked in remote stands, new commercial and leisure areas, extension of the baggage claim hall and of the baggage handling system for departures, arrivals and transit passengers.

All these developments have led to significant improvements in the quality of the service, reductions in waiting times, increased efficiency and capacity to accommodate irregular situations within acceptable service limits, which was previously not the case, given that the airport was operating at the limit of its installed capacity, using temporary solutions.

Processing capacity of the Immigration and Border Control Service will increase from the current 16 desks (conventional and electronic) for departures, to 30 control desks (conventional and electronic). For arrivals, the number of passport control desks will increase from 21 to 30.

Associated with the completion of the new International and Transit Terminal, a new commercial and leisure area has been created, offering passengers a wider range of stores and services, as well as better waiting and circulation conditions. Finally, the freeing of the area now provisionally occupied by the security control of transfer passengers will allow the area for security control of local passengers to be enlarged during a subsequent stage of the Plan, thus reducing waiting times.

The opening of this new area and the full completion of all the interventions associated with the Development Plan will bring huge improvements for Lisbon Airport in terms of the quality of the service provided to passengers and airline companies and will enable it to initially increase its declared capacity to 40 slots per hour, later increasing to 42 slots per hour. This represents an increase almost 25% on its capacity before the start of the Plan, which was 34 slots per hour.

The highlights of the Development Plan

After the opening of Terminal 2 in August 2007, a new food court with a more organised layout was opened in the following year, providing a functional and modern space with more comfort, natural light, a unique design and architecture and greater choice. In that same year, the new cargo complex and new parking aprons next to Terminal 2 began to operate, increasing the number of parking stands from 51 to 64, following the construction of new stands. In 2009, 10 new boarding gates with boarding bridges were opened and the commercial facilities of the Non-Schengen area were expanded. The car rental facilities were also subsequently enlarged.

In 2012, a new retail area opened with a walk-through store and 7 new top-end stores. The second half of 2012 was also marked by the opening of the Lisbon Metro station at the Airport, new bus and coach stops and the Portfolio store.

The conclusion of the Development Plan will bring Lisbon Airport closer to its vision of being the major European hub for Brazil and a central platform for connections between Europe and Africa, complemented by an increase in new segments of air services to revitalise economic activity, ensuring quality levels in line with the European average.

KEY INDICATORS

• Expansion of passenger and baggage areas in the terminal from 230,000 m2 to 406,000 m2, increase and improvement of the area for passenger transported by bus from aircraft parked on remote stands and enlargement and improvement of areas and facilities for transfer passengers, particularly passenger and hand luggage security control for passengers on connecting flights.
• Enlargement and improvement of border controls from 13 to 24 electronic control lanes; from 24 to 36 manual border control desks; installation of new technology at the border control for a 50% improvement in processing time.
• Expansion of the baggage claim hall with the installation of 5 additional conveyors to deliver baggage.
• A new 2,000 square metre commercial area, with 20 new major international retail chain stores.