Lisbon, Sept. 4, 2026 (Lusa) - The Zero association is launching a platform on Friday to monitor nighttime flights at Lisbon airport, stating that Lisbon continues to await the right to a quiet night, 536 days after the government promised flight-free nights.
This year, the legal limit of 91 movements per week between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. was met in only two weeks of the 35-week period analysed, according to Zero.
«In the week from 17 to 23 August, there were 187 movements, 96 more than the 91 permitted,» the association emphasised in a statement, noting that this was the worst week in the period analysed.
Zero – the Sustainable Terrestrial System Association – has therefore decided to launch a platform to monitor nighttime air traffic, based on information available on the specialist website Flightradar24.com, which allows users to see on a daily basis how many aircraft arrive at or depart from Lisbon during the night and to identify instances where the quantitative limits established by law are exceeded.
«Via the website https://zero.ong/ or directly via the link https://aerovoos.zero.ong/, members of the public will be able to monitor on a day-to-day basis the need for stronger enforcement to ensure noise levels remain within the 10 decibels (dB(A)) limits set by noise legislation during the nighttime period, as well as the 24-hour indicator,» Zero stated.
Data collected since the start of the year revealed 4,647 aircraft movements between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., of which 1,165 took place between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., «precisely the period during which the government announced that a flight ban would be introduced», the association maintained.
Based on the same data, Zero added that in 33 of the 35 weeks analysed, the weekly maximum of 91 movements was exceeded, and on 23 nights, the daily maximum of 26 movements between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. was exceeded, with 1,465 flight movements recorded above the established quantitative limits.
On the four days with the highest recorded activity, 30 March, 10 May, 29 March and 24 August, there were, respectively, 48, 46, 43 and 43 movements between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., whilst the legal limit is just 26», the organisation insisted, citing the 2004 ministerial order which restricts traffic at Humberto Delgado Airport between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. and sets a maximum of 91 movements per week and 26 per night.
The legislation acknowledges exceptions, meaning that exceeding the numerical limit does not necessarily constitute an individual infringement. Zero clarified, urging the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) to publicly clarify which of the identified movements are covered by legal exceptions, which constitute actual non-compliance, and what the resulting consequences are.
Exposure to nighttime aircraft noise is not merely a nuisance, it emphasised: «Scientific evidence links it to sleep disturbance and other adverse health effects, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommending that, at night, noise levels be reduced to below 40 decibels A-weighted between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., levels far lower than the 55 decibels A-weighted required by national legislation in the vicinity of airports».
In the document released on Friday, the association also noted that the 2024–2029 Noise Action Plan allocates only €7 million for mitigation measures, in addition to the €10 million announced by the government for soundproofing through the Environmental Fund.
For ZERO, these sums are «manifestly insufficient» given the size of the affected population; it therefore advocates reducing the impacts, enforcing the ban on flights between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., and accelerating construction of the new airport to achieve the «permanent closure» of the current facility.
AH/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
