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  1. Environment
  • Year report
    • 2023 ✓
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  • Portugal
  • Overview
    • Contextual information
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  • Safety
    • PRB monitoring
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  • Environment
    • PRB monitoring
    • En route performance
      • Horizontal flight efficiency
    • Terminal performance
      • AXOT & ASMA
      • CDO
    • CIV-MIL

  • Capacity
    • PRB monitoring
    • En route performance
      • En route ATFM delay
      • Other indicators
    • Terminal performance
      • Arrival ATFM delay
      • Other performance indicators

  • Cost-efficiency
    • PRB monitoring
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    • Terminal CZ
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      • Regulatory Result

Environment - Portugal

Download Report

PRB monitoring

▪ Portugal achieved a KEA performance of 1.50% compared to its target of 1.80% and contributed positively towards achieving the Union-wide target.

▪ KEP and SCR improved compared to 2022 levels.

▪ The share of CDO flights increased from 50.45% to 53.10% in 2023.

▪ During 2023, additional time in terminal airspace increased from 1.32 to 1.51 min/flight, while additional taxi out time increased from 2.34 to 2.70 min/flight.

En route performance

Horizontal flight efficiency of the actual trajectory (KEA) (KPI#1), of the last filed flight plan (KEP) (PI#1) & shortest constrained route (SCR) (PI#2)

Terminal performance

Additional taxi-out time (AXOT) (PI#3) & Arrival Sequencing and Metering Area (ASMA) time (PI#4)

Focus on ASMA & AXOT

AXOT

Additional taxi-out times at Lisbon (LPPT; 2019: 3.96 min/dep.; 2020: 2.68 min/dep.; 2021: 1.93 min/dep.; 2022: 3.18 min/dep.; 2023: 3.82 min/dep.) increased again in 2023 resulting in the 4th highest additional taxi-out times in the SES area and well above the SES average of 2.81 min/dep.
According to the Portuguese monitoring report: Regular performance and capacity reports by the ANSP are presented to the NSA in which the ENV KPI is specifically addressed.

ASMA

Like the additional taxi-out times, the additional times in the terminal airspace at Lisbon (LPPT; 2019: 2.75 min/arr.; 2020: 1.51 min/arr.; 2021: 1.15 min/arr.; 2022: 1.84 min/arr.; 2023: 2,12 min/arr.) experimented an increase in 2023 and resulted well above the SES average of 1.16 min/arr. with the second highest value of all SES monitored airports.
According to the Portuguese monitoring report: Regular performance and capacity reports by the ANSP are presented to the NSA in which the ENV KPI is specifically addressed.

Share of arrivals applying continuous descent operations (CDOs) (PI#5)

Focus CDOs

All airports except Cascais have shares of CDO flights well above the overall RP3 value in 2023 (28.8%), ranging from 28.0% (Cascais - LPCS) to 96.1% (Horta - LPHR). It should however be noted that Horta had only 181 arriving flights in 2023.
Most airports have an increase of the share of CDO flights, with the biggest increase for Santa Maria by 5.4 percentage points.
According to the Portuguese monitoring report: Regular performance and capacity reports by the ANSP are presented to the NSA in which the ENV KPI is specifically addressed.

Airport level
Airport Name
Additional taxi-out time (PI#3)
Additional ASMA time (PI#4)
Share of arrivals applying CDO (PI#5)
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Faro 0.27 0.65 0.65 0.83 NA 0.33 0.19 0.21 0.30 NA 62% 58% 57% 61% NA
Lisbon 2.68 1.93 3.18 3.82 NA 1.51 1.15 1.84 2.12 NA 55% 51% 49% 52% NA
Porto 1.45 1.67 1.61 1.60 NA 0.61 0.57 0.89 0.93 NA 46% 43% 41% 45% NA
Cascais NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 42% 34% 27% 28% NA
Madeira NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 46% 48% 52% 55% NA
Montijo NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 30% 32% 23% 17% NA
Porto Santo NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 68% 65% 52% 48% NA
Santa Maria NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 75% 77% 82% NA
Flores NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 100% 100% NA NA
Horta NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 99% 98% 96% NA
Ponta Delgada NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 67% 67% 70% NA

Civil-Military dimension

Focus on Civil-Military dimension

Update on Military dimension of the plan

Airspace design is established in accordance with the FUA principles for strategic, pre-tactical and tactical levels. The military training missions are conducted primarily within the restricted airspace associated with military aerodromes or, when necessary, at the temporary segregated airspace established at strategic level. This type of airspace usage results in direct and short transit routes to and from the established training areas. The average transit route extension between the military aerodromes and the training areas in Portugal is around 20 NM.Additionally, the average duration of the training missions, (not including the transit times) is one (1) hour, except during major exercises.A close and active daily coordination between the military and the civil ANSP is, since long, the trademark of the Portuguese ASM. Also, the FUA coordination is supported by the Local and regional Airspace Management Tool (LARA), which enables the required level of civil military interoperability for the ASM process. As a general assessment, the environmental impact of the military during the RP3 period is expected to be low, since the military training activity was reduced due to the pandemic, and the current airspace structure promotes the optimization of transit times between air bases and training areas, thus reducing the associated carbon footprint.

Military - related measures implemented or planned to improve capacity

AsM is the main enabler to minimize the military impact on the capacity KPA, which is supported by the LARA tool, and is achieved through a close civil military cooperation at all the three FUA levels.
On a daily basis, the FUA level 2 and 3 is managed by the ASM cell which is jointly manned by civil and military personnel, co-located within the Lisbon ACC. This provides for a close liaison at both pre-tactical and tactical level.
Overall, the reduction of the military training activity, including exercises, should result in a low impact in capacity. Moreover, the activation of airspace under the FUA principle should not be included in any type of capacity reduction, since, in the current operational arrangements between the Portuguese civil ANSP and the military, the required blocks of airspace are only active between the actual time the military aircraft enter the area until the moment they vacate it, thus increasing capacity.
The current trend by some ANSP to include the use of FUA by the military as a “capacity reduction factor”, is not only contrary to the principles contained in Regulation 2150/2005. it is also detrimental to the effort put by the military in the mission planning phase when establishing the airspace daily requirements.

Initiatives implemented or planned to improve PI#6

Implementation of the A_FUA functionallity as per regulation 2021/116 will improve the use of airspace by both the civil and the military. Also with the implementation of the LARA tool more accurate statistic reports will be available to evaluate the FUA performance.

Initiatives implemented or planned to improve PI#7

LARA interfaces and associated statistic tools are in the final stages of implementation by the ANSP.

Initiatives implemented or planned to improve PI#8

LARA interfaces and associated statistic tools are in the final stages of implementation by the ANSP.

 
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