Slot restrictions at the main airport serving the Portuguese capital Lisbon have prompted FBO group Omni Handling to expand in other parts of the country and also into neighboring Spain. Within the next two or three months, Omni is preparing to open new facilities at Funchal on the island of Madeira and also at Santa Maria in the Azores. Meanwhile, it is seeking to make use of Beja Airport, which is 90 miles from the center of Lisbon.
According to Omni Handling CEO Ricardo Pereira, it will take another four or five years for the government to complete the controversial project to build Lisbon’s new airport at Montijo, which is a 15-minute drive to downtown. For now, he feels that Beja, which until 2011 was only open to military traffic, is a better alternative to Cascais Airport because it has a longer runway.
Omni Handling has benefitted from fresh investment provided by its new owners PrivaJet of Malta and VIP Aero, based in Angola. They acquired the company from Omni Aviation Group in December. Following the change of ownership, Omni has established a new subsidiary company in Spain. It is preparing to open new FBOs in Bilbao, Santander, Seville, and Jerez.
- Business Aviation