Health and Environmental Crisis in Lisbon
Thirteen associations have united to demand the immediate end of night flights at Lisbon Airport, warning that these flights are harmful to health, unfair, and illegal.
This call to action coincides with the International Day for the Prohibition of Night Flights at Airports, observed this Saturday and established by 200 organizations worldwide.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Portuguese organizations reiterated that flights between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM are detrimental to health and the climate, unjust, and must be eliminated now.
They explained that exposure to aircraft noise and air pollution has severe health consequences, including cardiovascular diseases, cognitive impairment in children, mental health issues, sleep disorders, and diabetes.
Aviation emissions also contribute to global warming and climate disruption, they added.
"We need to draw red lines for airports: night flights are dangerous, unnecessary, and avoidable," the associations stated, noting that they mark September 13 in solidarity with communities affected by night flights and the growth of air traffic, both in Portugal and globally.
In Europe alone, over 3.4 million people living near 98 major airports are exposed to noise levels above legal limits.
In Lisbon, an average of 80 flights per night disturb sleep, and more than 388,000 people are subjected to noise exceeding the maximum value set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to data from the environmental association Zero.
The law allows up to 91 weekly flights between midnight and 6:00 AM, but this limit is not being met, and "even if it were, these flights would be incompatible with the General Noise Law and European legislation," the statement asserts.
The organizations also highlighted the "excessive increase" in air traffic, the "illegal expansion" of Humberto Delgado Airport's capacity by ANA Aeroportos, and warned: "Airlines and ANA Aeroportos are repeatedly disobeying national and international laws and regulations to increase air traffic, compromising our health and climate stability."
They accused the state of using 10 million euros from the Environmental Fund for acoustic insulation works near the airport instead of forcing ANA to end night flights.
The associations, including ATERRA, Associação dos Inquilinos Lisbonenses, Quercus, and Geota, stated that prohibiting night flights does not require courage but only "common sense to comply with the law, the will of the inhabitants, and the recommendations of the WHO and the scientific community."
According to the document, actions will take place in cities around the world on Saturday.
In Lisbon, associations and residents plan to place red lines on their building facades to denounce "the desperate public health situation that air traffic represents in the city today."
Comments
Join Our Community
Sign up to share your thoughts, engage with others, and become part of our growing community.
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts and start the conversation!