Congestion at Porto's international airport

Airline Industry Information, May 28, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Porto's international airport faced congestion yesterday (27 May) as charter flights returned from the Champions League final in Germany, where FC Porto beat AS Monaco FC 3-0.

Some 58 flights landed at Porto's Francisco Sa Carneiro airport, however congestion at the airport forced four aircraft to be diverted to Lisbon. The incident has raised concerns about whether Portugal can cope with arrivals for the UEFA Euro 2004 football tournament.

The airport is predicting a 50% increase in arrivals for the tournament, and is making plans to use the nearby Cortegaca military airport to handle the overflow. Authorities are also planning to use further military airports and local aerodromes in addition to expanding Portugal's three international airports to cope with the increase.

An estimated 1.2m fans are expected to travel for Euro 2004.

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