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TAP Air Portugal punctuality in 2018
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Abstract(s)
Em 2018, o setor do transporte aéreo continuava em franca expansão. Com efeito, o número de passageiros interessados em voar permanecia superior ao número de lugares disponibilizados pelas diversas companhias aéreas a nível mundial. E os dois principais fabricantes de aviões, a Airbus e a Boeing, acumulavam ordens de encomenda que lhes garantiam uma produção contínua superior a cinco (5) anos.
Porém, a satisfação dos níveis de procura por viagens aéreas está, também, diretamente ligada à disponibilidade e à capacidade das infraestruturas aeroportuárias. E, em 2018, mais de 200 aeroportos em todo o mundo já tinham esgotado a sua capacidade, sendo que, destes, 100 estão instalados no continente europeu.
Portugal não foi exceção. Em apenas sete (7) anos, entre 2013 e 2019, viu o número de passageiros transportados crescer de 32,6 milhões para 60,1 milhões. Simultaneamente, o número de movimentos de aviões aumentou para mais de 418 mil movimentos anuais (o que representa um aumento superior a 65%). Lisboa, enquanto maior e principal aeroporto nacional, foi aquele que registou, em 2018, o maior aumento no número de passageiros transportados e de movimentos de aviões, totalizando mais de 29 milhões de passageiros processados e mais de 210 mil movimentos de aviões.
Não obstante, quanto maior é a pressão exercida sobre a estrutura aeroportuária, maior será a probabilidade de colapso ou de uma forte diminuição dos níveis de qualidade e de pontualidade dessa mesma estrutura. Nessa medida, com uma percentagem média de partidas atrasadas de 68,6% e a maior média de partidas atrasadas (22,8 minutos), o Aeroporto de Lisboa foi classificado, em 2018, como o menos pontual de entre os 20 aeroportos europeus menos pontuais.
Flight punctuality is an essential issue among passengers, airports operators, and airlines. But, like in any other means of transportation, there will always be external factors of disruption. Adverse weather, airport congestion, lack of capacity, or industrial actions are just a few examples that will, inevitably, cause delays for airlines. However, in general, airline punctuality is most influenced by the performance of airlines and airports. After being appointed in the early days of 2019, by the Official Aviation Guide (OAG), as one of the top ten least punctual airline companies in the world, TAP Air Portugal (TAP) was forced to react. While operating one of the largest and most radical upgrades of its fleet, with the phase-in and phase-out of nearly 30 aircraft in less than two (2) years, TAP implemented a series of mitigating measures to try to improve its punctuality. In this study we will analyse, not only, the measures adopted by the company, but also, try to understand the real impact that external factors (airport capacity, ATC restrictions, and handling) had on the (lack of) punctuality of the Portuguese airline in 2018 and 2019.In 2018, the average delay per departure in Lisbon International Airport (LIS) reach a record value of 22,8 minutes per flight. On the following year, LIS ranked first (#1) in the table of the twenty least punctual European airports for the second time in three (3) consecutive years (2017 and 2019). This lack of airport capacity along with the numerous ATC restrictions formed a perfect storm that TAP decided to ignore. Or, at least, it failed to anticipate. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for the company to be considered, in March 2019, as the most punctual airline among the most active European airlines in LIS.
Flight punctuality is an essential issue among passengers, airports operators, and airlines. But, like in any other means of transportation, there will always be external factors of disruption. Adverse weather, airport congestion, lack of capacity, or industrial actions are just a few examples that will, inevitably, cause delays for airlines. However, in general, airline punctuality is most influenced by the performance of airlines and airports. After being appointed in the early days of 2019, by the Official Aviation Guide (OAG), as one of the top ten least punctual airline companies in the world, TAP Air Portugal (TAP) was forced to react. While operating one of the largest and most radical upgrades of its fleet, with the phase-in and phase-out of nearly 30 aircraft in less than two (2) years, TAP implemented a series of mitigating measures to try to improve its punctuality. In this study we will analyse, not only, the measures adopted by the company, but also, try to understand the real impact that external factors (airport capacity, ATC restrictions, and handling) had on the (lack of) punctuality of the Portuguese airline in 2018 and 2019.In 2018, the average delay per departure in Lisbon International Airport (LIS) reach a record value of 22,8 minutes per flight. On the following year, LIS ranked first (#1) in the table of the twenty least punctual European airports for the second time in three (3) consecutive years (2017 and 2019). This lack of airport capacity along with the numerous ATC restrictions formed a perfect storm that TAP decided to ignore. Or, at least, it failed to anticipate. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for the company to be considered, in March 2019, as the most punctual airline among the most active European airlines in LIS.
Description
Keywords
TAP Air Portugal, Airline Punctuality, Slots, Lisbon, Airport