Ota Airport

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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected new airport.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the construction and/or completion of the airport approaches, and as more information becomes available on it.

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Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008)

Coordinates: 39.094897° N 8.96553° W

Ota Airport was the planned site for new the super expensive Lisbon airport located in Ota, 50 km north of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal from the late 90's til January 2008 when the project was aborted^[1]. There is already a small airstrip there but that was to be removed prior to construction. Completion of the airport was projected around 2017. The airport would have two runways on the borders of the airport property and should be able to accommodate the Boeing 747 and perhaps the Airbus A380. Ota Airport will likely serve the airlines and their destinations that currently serve Lisbon's Portela Airport. As of November 2007, the Portuguese government was still debating whether or not the airport will be built in Ota. After over eight years of debate a final decision is not yet in sight, with other options such as Alcochete at 38.774903° N 8.88193° W, still being discussed as a viable alternative. The deadline for a final decision was set by the Government as December 2007). Another commonly cited alternative is Alverca do Ribatejo at 38.885834° N 9.028611° W and the Montijo Air force base at 38.715251° N 9.032822° W. The decision process can be qualified as a typical analysis paralysis.

The final governmental decision OTA was not chosen, and the Airport is going to be built in Alcochete Airport 38.768N 8.795W, an area used for target bombing by Air Force bombers. Much better surroundings, and future expansions guaranted. Planes can land and take off from different directions. The land is much cheaper as it belongs to the state. Many disapointments among those financially interested in OTA

[edit] Transportation

The proposed Portuguese TGV high speed train would have a stop at Ota with connections to the rest of the country. Ota Airport (if and when it goes ahead) connects to A1 motorway between Porto and Lisboa and which has connections to other principal highways.

As the decision is instead in Alcochete, the Vasco da Gama bridge will be the main road connection, while a ferry boat and a nearby third crossing on the Tagus River would also serve the airport.

[edit] Controversy and Public Opinion

The decision process has been controverse, with defenders of the various offers arguing with all sorts of facts and visions. Local lobbying is also strong. According to polls as at November 2007, public preference is clear for Alcochete (63%) vs Ota (15%) [1]. But still lacks an environmental impact study to confirm that Alcochete is indeed the best place to build a large infra - structure like an airport, and that same environmental impact study could overturn that decision over to Ota again.