New airport in Portimao

[jaycee]

Having brought a Carvoeiro property in 2008 (mug), partly on the strength of the 'forthcoming' airport in Portimao, does anyone have any news as to whether or not this is a viable proposition or just estate agents bluff?

[Bruce Wallis]

This story ran for while, but it was only a story.
Drive to the existing airstrip and you'll see there is simply not the room to expand the facilities to take commercial jets such as the 737 or A319

[EMM]

Thank god for that as well.
If you have spent any time in the summer closer to Faro with the planes taking off and landing throughout the day you would not want the peace that we enjoy in the west spoiled.

[James Faro]

I once stayed in a luxury villa in the golf resort of Quinta Do Lago; a beautiful area. I knew it was not too far from Faro Airport but unfortunately the aircraft noise late at night and early morning was very noticeable especially during the peak season - it was like Heathrow-On-Sea. It didn't ruin the holiday but it wasn't exactly conducive to absolute peace and quiet.

I always thought an airport at Portimao was a peculiar aspiration due to its locality!

So Jaycee is a mug? There would be a queue on this forum wishing they were a 'mug' owning a villa near Portimao.

[cereza]

Having brought a Carvoeiro property in 2008 (mug), partly on the strength of the 'forthcoming' airport in Portimao, does anyone have any news as to whether or not this is a viable proposition or just estate agents bluff?

The idea of upgrading Alvor airfield to accomodate jets did seem quite serious about 5 years ago with the intention that it would enhance Portimao's desire to become a big cruise ship port however, as BW says, it was not practical and, like many other projects, the credit crunch put paid to it. The other big talk at the time was for a big sports centre near Lagos to rival La Manga in Spain which was supposedly fronted by Sven Goran Eriksen - nothng ever developed !
Property prices have dropped continually over the last 5 years and I can sympathise with you - hindsight is a wonderful thing

[TomUK]

There is a similar airfield at Lagos. I always thought that developing that one would have been a better proposition than Alvor. Handier for transfer to eastern end of the Algarve and the west coast, saving time on the current drag from Faro. I agree though that it will probably never happen at either place in the current financial climate. All around the Algarve there are failed tourist developments. Some fully built but never occupied, some half built shells, and some that are just a patch of bulldozed land. I suppose the construction of a fully operational new airport is a non-starter!

[EMM]

There is an airport up to full international standards at Beja approx 90 mins from the Algarve that was intended to be the gateway to west. To my knowledge only one or two tour companies have ever used it.
There is no need for another.

[TomUK]

Didn't know about that one EMM.

[djprescott]

There is an airport up to full international standards at Beja approx 90 mins from the Algarve that was intended to be the gateway to west. To my knowledge only one or two tour companies have ever used it.
There is no need for another.

Yes, there was talk a few years ago that Ryanair were going to use it as a base for quite a few aircraft but presumably couldn't strike the right deal!

[EMM]

It was just a ploy to get a better deal at Faro.

[djprescott]

Yep, that would be Ryanair!!

[joeysoap]

AFAIK Ryanair have already been offered Beja, turned it down, they want Lisbon!!

http://tiny.cc/ix80zw

[James Faro]

If there is insufficient demand at Beja then Ryanair or the other budgets won't be using it. HOWEVER, if the authorities used a bit of ingenuity and offered landing and service fees at hugely discounted rates, it 'may' tempt the airlines and bring in the passengers, more jobs and commerce into the area, May not bring much profit into the coffers of the airport owners but the benefits to the region would be tangible.

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/onl ... ears/28229

[Bruce Wallis]

I understand that Ryanair will be staring services through Lisbon, possibly via their Porto hub.
Beja is just too far from anywhere to be viable as a holiday hub.