Delays attributable to air traffic management fell by 18%, according to the president of NAV.

Technological investments

In an interview with Lusa, Pedro Ângelo explained that the improvement in delays is the result of technological investments and operational adjustments and that the growth trend in traffic is expected to continue in the coming years.

“In 2025, we once again set a record in terms of the number of air traffic movements in the two flight information regions under the responsibility of NAV Portugal,” said the chairman of the board of directors of the company responsible for air traffic management in Portugal.

According to the official, 913,000 movements were recorded throughout the year, “representing an increase of 5% compared to 2024”.

The growth was seen in the Lisbon and Santa Maria flight information regions (FIR), which include flights originating from or destined for Portuguese airports and flights overflying national airspace, including the Atlantic.

Despite the increased pressure on the system, operational indicators showed improvements, particularly in air traffic control delays.

“Despite this growth in traffic, it was possible to achieve a very significant reduction in the number of delays, in the order of 18%, considering the air traffic control provided on route and at terminals,” he said.

Pedro Ângelo stressed that national performance remains competitive in the European context and that the results reflect the strengthening of human resources, internal reorganisation and operational improvements implemented in recent years.

Reorganisation of airspace

He added that NAV is preparing a major reorganisation of Portuguese airspace, which he described as “the biggest change in airspace” planned for the coming years, by creating new on-route control sectors to respond to traffic growth.

Among the measures that contributed to the improvement is the consolidation of technological systems and traffic management procedures, including the arrival sequencing system, known as the “point merge system”, which allows for more efficient organisation of aircraft approaches to Lisbon airport.

Even so, he acknowledges that traffic growth will continue to pose operational challenges, especially given that the country’s main airport is operating close to capacity.

“Lisbon airport operates with a single runway, which effectively prevents it from performing better,” he said.

Despite these limitations, NAV expects the growth trend to continue.

“That is our expectation. What we have seen in recent years is that we have always managed to exceed the forecasts made by Eurocontrol’s statistics office,” he said.