It is hoped that authorisation from the national civil aviation regulator, ANAC, will be granted by the end of this year.
In attaining the Level IV certification, Cascais aims for Tires to become an alternative to Lisbon’s overburdened main Portela airport and relieve it of executive aviation (private flights).
Speaking to newspaper Diário de Notícias (DN), a source close to the process said “in the current scenario, in which Portela is saturated, Cascais could become an alternative for executive flights.”
Cascais council, governed by Mayor, Carlos Carreiras, has refrained from commenting on the reports, although DN claims it is Cascais deputy Mayor, Miguel Pinto Luz, the previous government’s State Secretary for Transport, who is driving the “delicate process”.
The ball is now in ANAC’s court, whose job it is to see if Tires can fulfil Level IV requirements, which is the highest level of operations short of being a fully-fledged airport.
The source explained that “aerodromes are classified in growing order, on levels from I to IV, with regards to operational, administrative, security and facilitation criteria.”
To attain the higher level of classification, Tires will need to fulfil a series of conditions, such as having an adequate control tower, operational and maintenance personnel, ground staff and service providers, boarding and arrival zones, baggage formalities and permanent emergency systems.
“It is a certification that prepares the aerodrome for flights of a bigger dimension and involving Borders and Immigration services”, the source explained.
At present Tires aerodrome can receive flights of up to 40 tons, which includes the TAP Embraer aircraft, with a capacity of around one hundred passengers.
It is not the first time Cascais has tried to upgrade Tires aerodrome, to attract charter flights within the Lisbon region.
In 2009, under António Capucho, a €7 million plan to increase its capacity for executive flights and helicopters with new hangars and larger facilities was drawn up, but failed to push ahead.
In December 2015, a new phase for the aerorome was celebrated when Cascais was included on a regular domestic flight path between Portimão in the south and Bragança in the north, which also has stops in Vila Real and Viseu.
Last year, 5,571 passengers passed through Tires on executive and commercial flights, and air taxis.