Lajes Civil Airport exceeds 800-thousand passengers mark in 2022
Angra do Heroísmo
Vice-Presidência do Governo Regional
The Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government, through Lajes Civil Airport (ACL), informs that 2022 was the best year ever in terms of annual passenger traffic, exceeding the 800-thousand mark for the first time.
As of November 30, 2022, a total of 803,783 passengers had arrived at the Lajes Civil Airport.
Although the civil aviation sector continues to be severely affected by the covid-19 pandemic and the economic and social crisis arising from the conflict in Ukraine, Artur Lima acknowledges that this result, reached in such a short period of time, proves that the work carried out so far has been well done.
In this regard, the Vice-President pointed out the creation of the Azores Fare, the increase of flight connections to the main national airports, the establishment of new international routes, namely New York, Montreal and London, the resumption of flight connections to Oakland and the maintenance of flight connections to Boston and Toronto. As a result, the potential of this airport infrastructure was optimised, resulting in practical benefits for the development of Terceira Island and the Azores, stated the government official.
The consolidation of the Lajes Civil Airport in the international civil aviation context is further evidenced by the 150 technical stopovers recorded up to November 30, 2022. It is also important to highlight the importance of this infrastructure when it comes to technical/medical emergencies, with 19 cases having been recorded.
According to Artur Lima, these figures evidence the importance of the Lajes Civil Airport for regional economic development as well as for civil aviation safety in the North Atlantic.
As for the future, the Vice-President of the Regional Government wants this infrastructure to continue to be properly used to enhance the mobility of Azoreans, promoting the economic growth of Terceira Island and the Azores.
