Air traffic in Lisbon is expected to reach a record high tomorrow (May 24) for the highly-anticipated Champions League final between Atletico and Real Madrid at Estádio da Luz.
NAV, the Portuguese air traffic control entity, has announced that over 740 flights are scheduled for the capital’s airport this Saturday.
According to NAV, the number of flights expected is considerably above that registered during other major events held in Lisbon, such as the Expo98, the Euro 2004, and the NATO summit in 2010.
So far, the highest number of flights from and to Lisbon airport had been 570, registered during the Euro 2004 final.
Even today (May 23) and Sunday (May 25) will register more flights than ever before, with over 650 expected at the capital’s airport.
Airlines have been juicing the occasion as much as they can – Iberia will be carrying out 22 extra flights until Sunday, while TAP is using bigger aircrafts for their flights to and from Lisbon.
More than 60,000 spectators are expected for the big game, with well over half of them travelling from Spain.
Hotels are reported to be fully booked and charging “exorbitant prices”, which has prompted enterprising locals to jump on the bandwagon and start renting out spare bedrooms for as much as €5,000 for the weekend.
The final kicks off this Saturday evening at 7.45pm and can be viewed live on TVi channel.
