Portuguese airport manager ANA, which is owned by French company Vinci, foresees in its expansion plan of Lisbon airport the closure of runway 17/35 to increase plane parking capacity, the pilots and other sources told Lusa.

The question is that runway 17/35 is better for landing for safety reasons, "between three and four months of the year, because of strong winds that cause windshear (rapid changes in wind speed and direction), the APPLA chairman, Miguel Silveira, told Lusa.

This means that if runway 17/35 is closed down then for three or four months a year, long-haul planes which cannot land at Montijo will have to divert to Porto or Faro.