Humberto Delgado Airport

LIS originated on October 15th, 1942, during WWII. As it was neutral, the airport was open to British and German airlines and became a hub for smuggling people, leading to Allied and Axis spies watching it closely. Despite Portuguese neutrality, the Allies used the airport as a stop to Gibraltar and North Africa. The end of the war brought about rapid development at the airport, and Air France serviced it, British European Airways, Iberia, KLM, Pan Am, Sabena, and TWA, with passengers served reaching 100,000 by 1954. In 1951 there were four runways at 1,350 meters (Runway 5), 1,024 meters (Runway 9), 1,203 meters (Runway 14), and 1,170 meters (Runway 18). Two of the runways were later extended to 1,999 meters. From 1959 to 1962, the airport underwent several renovations. A longer runway capable of handling jets was built, and the first jet flight to LIS was an Air France Caravelle in 1960. 1962 saw the opening of Runway 02/20, which was 3,130 meters capable of handling direct transatlantic flights. As such, the first transatlantic flight was by TWA via a Boeing 707. In 1972 TAP ordered the Boeing 747, and the airport expanded the terminal and built five large parking bays in response. In 1983 the buildings and facilities were expanded, whereas the first air jet bridges were constructed in 1991. On December 18th, 1998, the airport’s concessions to operate were transferred to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, who also assumed responsibility for future planning and development. As the airport is located within Lisbon, it is surrounded by development, making expansion impractical. This has led to calls for a new airport, which was determined to take place at Alcochete, the site of a military airbase (the military agreed to move). Whereas the plan was announced on January 10th, 2008, it was abandoned due to austerity measures in the following years. It was determined that the airport would instead be expanded as much as possible. Efforts focused on a new terminal (now Terminal 2), which was completed in 2007, the expansion of Terminal 1 (completed in 2011), a new shopping center, new airbridges, a new underground metro station (completed in 2012), and generally more efficient use of existing structures. Other improvements included lighting and baggage claim refurbishment, new cargo facilities, departure lounge refurbishments, electrical refurbishments, a new north pier and boarding gate lounge, and more. In May 2016, the airport was renamed in honor of Humberto Delgado, a Portuguese air force general and famous politician and the person who presided over the foundation of TAP.

The airport is located four nautical miles northeast of the city center of Lisbon.

• The Portuguese government announced plans in 2019 to expand the current airport and build another in Montijo, 20 miles from Lisbon. The plan calls for converting the existing military base to civilian use, with the goal of handling 50 million annual passengers. 
• Calls for a new airport are not for naught. LIS is the busiest single-runway airport in Europe and one of Europe's most congested airports. As such, it consistently ranks poorly in customer satisfaction. 
• The FBOs at LIS are Wexjet Aviation, OMNI Handling, Sky Valet, and Safeport Executive.