The orderly exit of the Air Force from its Montijo base which the government wants to be used as Lisbon’s second airport, will costs an estimated €130 million.
The Defence Minister has convinced himself and colleagues that Portugal's civil airports operator, ANA, should foot the entire bill as it will benefit from the Air Force’s exit.
The Montijo airbase will start to be used for civilian flights "from 2022" and the Air Force will have to move from its base. This €130 million cost is to relocate Air Force services to other of Portugal’s air bases.
During Friday’s budget discussions in parliament, the Secretary of State for Defence, Marcos Perestrello, said he believed that this cost should not be paid by the State, "We are convinced that it is possible that the future profits from operating a civilian service from the Montijo base will be enough for ANA to bear the burden of the changes that have to be made."
MP, João Rebelo, commented, "what is enshrined in ANA’s privatisation contract is that the cost of increasing the operation is incumbent on the State, not on ANA."
The Montijo base houses four squadrons deployed on various missions including maritime surveillance, and search and rescue. There also is the Air Force Survival Training Centre to relocate.
The 1,000 hectares of land is an ideal location to cater for Lisbon airport's overspill. In a study submitted to the Government by the Air Force, "two hypotheses were on the table: one of coexistence between military and civilian flights and another one where the Air Force moved out completely,” said Marcos Perestrello.
The Alcochete firing range will have to be abandoned too, in case a Ryanair flight is shot down by accident.
The relocation of the military is expected to happen in 2023 or 2024, according to a July statement by Manuel Teixeira Rolo, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, adding that the State could negotiate these travel costs with ANA, taking advantage of the fact that the operator will be charging more airport fees when Montijo opens as a civil air traffic airport. ANA has yet to comment.
