Air traffic in Portugal exceed. ds pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
In 2023, the number of flights controlled by NAV Portugal in Portuguese airspace surpassed, for the first time, the records recorded in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, with a total of 852,700 flights, the company announced today.
Compared to 2022, the total movements controlled by NAV last year grew by 11.9%, equivalent to an additional 90,500 flights, setting a new record for air traffic managed by the company. In 2019, the pre-pandemic reference year, 816,300 flights had been controlled.
“Last year’s traffic thus marks the definitive exit from the period of sharp drops in air traffic resulting from the pandemic, but also a new record for traffic managed by NAV Portugal professionals”, highlights the air navigation company in a statement.
In all 10 NAV control towers, traffic (IFR) exceeded or equaled 2019 levels, highlighting the towers located on the islands of Flores, Horta and Madeira , whose traffic was 40.8%, 33.3% and 31.6% above 2019 values , respectively.
NAV has a team of around 1,000 qualified technicians who ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
In addition to the air traffic control centers in Lisbon and Santa Maria, NAV manages the Control Towers in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal, Porto Santo, Santa Maria, Ponta Delgada, Horta, Flores and Cascais.