Lisbon, Feb. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - NAV Portugal controlled 917,000 IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flights in Portuguese airspace in 2024, 7.5% more than the previous year and a new annual high, it announced on Tuesday.

"Despite dealing with a record volume of air traffic, NAV Portugal managed to reduce average delays per controlled movement by 14%," the air navigation service provider also said in a statement.

NAV's executive chairman, Pedro Ângelo, considered that this reduction, achieved in a context of record levels of traffic, "is a considerable achievement and a testament to the professionalism and dedication" of the employees.

The increase in traffic was significant in the two Flight Information Regions (RIV) under NAV Portugal's responsibility, with 719,180 IFR flights controlled in the Lisbon RIV (which covers all the airspace of mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Region of Madeira), up 7% on the previous year, for a daily average of 1,965 IFR flights.

In the RIV of Santa Maria (which covers the entire Autonomous Region of the Azores and a vast area of the North Atlantic), growth was 9.5%, with 197,897 IFR flights controlled, or an average of 541 flights per day.

Activity at the control towers also saw growth last year, particularly in Faro, where traffic rose by 4.8%, to a total of 75,555 IFR flights controlled, as well as Ponta Delgada, where the rise was 6.9%, to 32,419 IFR flights.

In addition to IFR flights, which account for the vast majority of operations managed by NAV, 53,653 VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flights were also controlled.

MPE/ADB // ADB.

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