Beja’s infrastructure, which was built in 2011, has all the potential to become a major airport in Portugal, which would serve as a complementary airport to Lisbon’s and Faro’s overcrowded airports. However, after 13 years, no definite decision has been reached, at a moment when the construction of a new airport in Montijo, or even another one in Lisbon, is being discussed.

Manuel Tão, a researcher from the University of Algarve has manifested his views towards the topic, defending that he sees no point in building a new infrastructure if there is a brand new prepared airport that could solve the major part of the problem. In an interview with Rádio Renascença, the researcher explained that “when we have problems, whether in Portela or Faro, we will have to make use of an infrastructure that already exists, which is the Beja airport, regardless of the losses or gains it has.”

One of the major issues associated with Beja’s airport, is the lack of public services connections to Lisbon or to other big cities in Portugal, as the railway is not currently operational in Beja, and the bus services offered are not that many. As Manuel Tão emphasized, making reference to the connectivity issue “we are going to have to build accessibility to Beja or reinforce those that exist particularly at rail level, because we will have no alternative.”

Another external problem, apart from the above, which may influence the inactivity of Beja’s airport, is the lack of funds, especially the European fund. As Manuel Tão pronounced, “one of the two, either they use these European funds now, or they never use them again, because the post-2030 scenario will be very complicated.” The researcher believes that the problem will not be solved within the next 10 to 15 years.