In an interview with Lusa, José Lopes argued that Humberto Delgado Airport has been operating at its limit for several years and needs, above all, to gain operational robustness.

"This airport is at its maximum levels," he said, pointing out that the ongoing works should be used primarily to reduce the irregularity of operations.

"Lisbon airport is one of the worst in Europe" when it comes to delays, he added, arguing that interventions should focus on restoring predictability for passengers.

The official was referring to the ongoing expansion, which includes the recent completion of Terminal 2 and a subsequent expansion phase to increase capacity from the current 38 movements per hour to a maximum of 45 movements per hour by 2028.

Although he acknowledges that the increase in movements per hour will also add capacity, the manager argues that this growth should be phased.

"The improvements that are achieved should be to make the operation more robust (...) and only then, in a second phase, can there be an increase in capacity," he said.

For easyJet Portugal, adding more flights to an already unstable system would only exacerbate the problems passengers are already experiencing.

"When people buy a flight at 8 am, it’s to leave at 8 am, and not, as a rule, to have a delay of 10, 15, 20 minutes," he said.

José Lopes recalled that a political decision had already been made to construct a new airport, but that, in the meantime, Portela would have to continue operating with improvements.

“The political decision has already been made (…) a brand new airport will be built from scratch [at the Alcochete Shooting Range], to which all operations will be transferred,” he stated, adding that until that happens, one cannot “wait at an airport without growth capacity.”

In 2025, across the country, easyJet operated 96 routes to and from Portuguese airports and transported more than 10.5 million passengers, with an average load factor of 92%, one of the highest in its entire network.