High-profile attendees of the upcoming Web Summit in Lisbon face unexpected travel disruptions, with organizers warning of a critical shortage of private jet landing slots at the city’s main airport and surrounding facilities.
The global technology conference, scheduled for November 10-13, has informed guests that Lisbon Airport is struggling to manage its traffic volume. This has resulted in a severe lack of available slots for both takeoffs and landings for private aircraft operations.
According to an email seen by local media, Web Summit organizers stated, “Lisbon Airport is having difficulty managing the volume of traffic, resulting in a lack of available slots for takeoff and landing for all operations.”
Some attendees have been told that the only viable landing spots during the event are located more than two hours away by car from Lisbon. These distant options include airports within neighboring Spain.
Organizers expressed regret over the situation. They noted, “These are circumstances beyond our control and we apologize for not being able to do more to help secure slots.”
The Web Summit organization has advised participants to consider using commercial flights to travel to the Portuguese capital. The event venue is conveniently located just a 15-minute drive from Lisbon’s main airport.