The proposed new civil airport at the Montijo Air Force base should have radar installed to detect flocks of birds, according to the amended environmental report.
The Association of Portuguese Airline Pilots already are saying that the radar to detect birds near the airport is a sign that the choice of the site is wrong.
The Association fears that the Lisbon’s new airport will suffer frequent closure as thousands of birds live in the Natural Reserve of the Tagus Estuary.
The first environmental impact study carried out by airports operator, ANA, has been reworked by order of the Portuguese Environment Agency. This is due to shortcomings in first report, notably the convenient lack of analysis of the bird population in the immediate vicinity.
The report includes an Agency demand that the proposed civilian airport is equipped with a bird monitoring radar system, so as to understand, “the level of risk at the airport and its surrounding area during the entire period of operation."
The new document explains that, "the installation of this bird detection system is an important preventive measure, a warning system for pilots," as there are 45 bird species in the area that have protected status.
The study suggests measures to minimise the risk of bird strikes, explaining that species in the area include ducks, seagulls and birds of prey, all "prone to flock and fly at high altitudes on migratory routes."
In order to avoid accidents with birds, the new environmental impact study proposes a number of measures, including radar, and a bird management programme which will try, “to take them to other places,” and a collision risk management and control plan for birdlife.
The president of the Association of Portuguese Airline Pilots, Miguel Silveira, commented that some small airports have this type of radar but such equipment normally is not used at large airports which need to remain open and can not be subject to frequent closure.
Silveira said that this is just one of the reasons that the new airport should not be at the Montijo site, adding that he did not know why the environmental impact study had presented radar as a solution as it will mean “almost daily closure of the airport,” and that anyway, "radar is not an effective safety system."
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There already is an agreement between the military and ANA over the future Montijo airport with the Air Force moving one squadron to Beja and another to Sintra. The €115 million bill for these changes will be paid by ANA.
