Lisbon's Night Flights Ban Overdue for 3 Years: Zero Demands 2026 Summer Schedule Respects Silent Hours

Environmental Group Urges Government Action on Lisbon Airport Noise

The environmental association Zero has issued a warning that Lisbon risks continuing to have night flights during summer 2026 if the government fails to act, as the deadline for allocating flight schedules to airlines approaches.

In a statement released this Sunday, Zero emphasized that the ban on flights between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM has been "overdue for three years" and that in just four days, the time slots for aviation companies for next summer will be finalized.

The environmental defense association is referring to the publication of the final "Slot Allocation List," a document that defines, "in a binding manner," all takeoff and landing authorizations at national airports from late March to late October 2026.

Reinaldo Rodrigues/Global Imagens (archive)

Health and Economic Impacts of Night Flight Noise

"Based on a World Health Organization methodology, Zero estimates that the accumulated costs related to noise from Humberto Delgado Airport on the health of citizens in Lisbon, Loures, and Almada (annoyance, morbidity) and in economic terms (loss of productivity, undervaluation of real estate) since 2015 amount to nearly 12 billion euros to date," reads a statement from the association.

The association recalled a study commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure, following the establishment of a parliamentary working group on night flights at Humberto Delgado Airport: "It concluded in 2022 that, considering the impact on approximately 388,000 people affected by nighttime noise levels exceeding the maximum limit set for residential areas in the General Noise Regulation, all flights between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM should be ended."

The measure, they argued, is "essential both to protect the health of hundreds of thousands of people and to reduce the negative economic impact" associated with nighttime aircraft noise.

Call for Government Intervention and Monitoring

In this context, Zero has appealed to the government to use all its powers to ensure that the flight scheduling for the next summer season fully respects the silent period between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM.

"It is equally fundamental that effective monitoring and penalty mechanisms be implemented for any nighttime movements outside this interval, ensuring total transparency of data and accountability of the entities involved," they suggested.