Parliament rejected this Friday BE bills to ban night and ghost flights and restrict private jet flights.
The diplomas of BE, the party that marked the debate on this issue, were voted by PS, PSD, Chega and IL and in favor of PAN and Livre, in addition to supporters. The PCP also voted to ban night flying and ghost flying and refrained from restricting private jet flights.
At the request of PAN and Livre, diplomas in the specialty were transferred without a vote, which also imposes restrictions on night flights at Lisbon airport. Along the way, there were recommendations from the PCP to end night flights and Livre, which asked the government to pay for private jet flights.
Debates and various legislative initiatives arose following a government decree published in mid-October that allowed more night flights at Lisbon airport between October 18 and November 28 to change the air traffic control system, despite the negative opinion of environmentalists. .
In a plenary discussion this Friday morning, BE parliamentary leader Pedro Filipe Soares considered that night flights affect the “public health and quality of life of the population” but also criticized the “enormous environmental costs” of travel. made by “super rich” private jets and ghost flights, with empty planes or very few passengers so airlines don’t lose slots.
PS, through MP Hugo Costa, recalled that the resolution was no longer valid and accused those who planned the parliamentary debates of “demagogy and the desire to cause confusion.”
However, he expressed the party’s concern about the problems that night flights are causing for the population living near the Humberto Delgado airport, and said that the bench would contribute, in a specialty, to initiatives.
“This is the real bill for not building a new airport, a discussion that has dragged on since 1969,” the PS MP said, accusing both left and right of “boycotting decisions” that were on the table.
The future Lisbon airport was also an argument used by PSD, Chega and IL in the debate, with these parties holding the government responsible for the lack of a solution.
Social Democrat António Proa acknowledged that the noise generated by the Lisbon airport causes sleep disturbances, reduces school and professional performance, and can even affect the cardiovascular system.
“Night flights are a problem because the airport is located within the city limits and a reasonable traffic limit has been exceeded. If the government had gone through the decision-making process on the new airport without any confusion, we would no longer have this problem,” he said. counts.
PSD declined to support a total ban on night flying, warning of the economic impact of the ban, but defended the need to comply with legislation that already provides for a noise reduction plan to be implemented by the airport operating company. ANA.
In the same vein, Cheg’s deputy Rui Afonso defended that restrictions could not be imposed “indiscriminately and easily”, and alternatively argued for studying the impact of night flying and accelerating the construction of a new capital airport.
IL MP Carlos Guimarães Pinto also warned of the economic implications of the ban – he cited studies stating 600 million euros and the loss of 900,000 passengers – and suggested, as an alternative, to allow only these flights for aircraft. which have noise reduction technology.
The PCP, through deputy Duarte Alves, accused PS and PSD of continuing to delay the construction of the new airport “against the national interest and to protect the interests of Vinci”, the French airport operator who has owned the Portuguese company ANA since 2013.
Sole deputy and leader of the PAN, Ines Sousa Real, also defended the restriction of night flights – except for emergency or humanitarian ones – but recalled that her diploma also suggests that the government prepare a noise assessment report and submit proposals to minimize its impact.
From Livre, sole deputy Ruy Tavares also pointed to health problems caused by excessive air pollution and noise caused by overnight flights in Lisbon and called for mitigation measures, in addition to a tax on private jet flights, which, according to PS, has already been approved in the State Budget for 2023.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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