Lisbon, May 22, 2026 (Lusa) - Lisbon's Sete Rios coach terminal operator, Rede Expressos, has informed German multinational coach group, Flixbus, of available slots for its operations, approving them despite the terminal having limited operational capacity.
In a statement released to Lusa on Friday, the terminal said it has communicated the available slots for operations, considering the terminal’s capacity and safety conditions.
In the same communication sent to Flixbus, the terminal identified which of the slots requested by the German multinational could be accommodated.
The document said that the terminal “has limited operational capacity and operates under particularly demanding conditions”, due to the intensity of daily use and road traffic in the surrounding area.
“The terminal team will continue to work with all operators and the authorities to ensure that access takes place under the best possible conditions, in accordance with fair and safe conditions and, above all, with passengers in mind,” the statement added.
The companies have been in conflict since 2023, and on 8 March 2026, the Lisbon Administrative Court ordered that Flixbus be granted immediate access to the terminal, limited to the capacity available.
In April, Flixbus accused the Portuguese coach company of failing to comply with the court ruling.
The ruling requires the current concessionaire to “indicate the availability of parking spaces, specifying the number available versus occupied” and to allocate to the German multinational “specific stopping times in accordance with the available capacity”, amongst other obligations the court imposed.
The dispute between the two companies began with a complaint lodged by Flixbus with the Mobility and Transport Authority in 2023, when the Portuguese coach company refused to grant the German group access to the terminal.
The regulator issued an opinion on 8 May 2025 in favour of the German multinational, having established that the Sete Rios terminal had available capacity, which should have led the Portuguese coach company to grant access to Flixbus and any other operator, within the available time slots.
In June 2025, the Portuguese coach company denied access, which led Flixbus to request, in July, that the Institute for Mobility and Transport temporarily suspend the granting of express service licences and, in October, to bring legal proceedings, which the Lisbon Court decided in March 2026.
JO/MYAL // AYLS
Lusa
