Portugal’s airports company ANA mulls 50% airport tax hike to pay for new Lisbon airport
The Vinci airports subsidiary that runs Portugal’s 11 airports, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, is considering raising airport taxes by 50% to 9.8% from 2026 to pay for its share of Lisbon’s new international airport which is slated to be operational by 2037.
ANA has also warned that several risks exist to finding the money to pay for the infrastructure which will eventually replace Lisbon’s current Humberto Delgado International Airport near Portela on the outskirts of the city.
ANA has estimated that the new airport, which will be located on the south bank of the River Tagus at Alcochete, will cost €8.5 million and will have a capacity to cater to 52 million passengers a year.
However, in order to avoid the taxpayer footing the bill for new infrastructure, it has no choice but to increase airport taxes.
Other necessary factors involve extending the length of concession rights and even so this might not cover the eventual costs.
ANA points to various risks that could destabilise the structure of financing, one of them being the sale of State-owned national carrier TAP.
Also given the scope of the technical specifications of the new airport, the environmental and fiscal environment, financial market conditions, and liquidity, ANA says the financing model may have to be adjusted before its application as a candidate to run the new airport is delivered to the government.