This is where it all begins for many people who come to Portugal for the first time. Lisbon airport is different from the way it used to be. I still remember there being a balcony where we could watch the planes arrive and take off. We would say goodbye, but then we would go to the balcony to wave to the person from afar, watch the plane take off and that was the final farewell, almost like “now I can’t do anything else and I have to leave”.
After years of nothing significant happening in the transformation of Lisbon airport, the balcony has disappeared, the airport is now bigger, there is a new metro station that connects it to the city centre, there are more shops and there is a second terminal. It is more modern, basically, but it still manages to have a more or less welcoming appearance. For example, you can still walk to the boarding gate without feeling like you are running a marathon! But what draws the most attention are the people. There are people (and consequently confusion) everywhere now. That is the biggest difference in my opinion. In the days of the “balcony airport” the space was not very busy. In the years that followed, of course the number of flights increased, but now it is one flight after another and that makes all the difference.
The day I was waiting for a flight from Porto Alegre, it was raining. And how it rained. But tourists filled the corridors even though it was the middle of winter in Portugal. I got to a point where my eyes got tired from staring at that exit and not being able to see the person I was waiting for. They were faces of all races, with lots of luggage or almost none, lots of clothes or almost none. They came from all over, from hot climates, very cold climates, intercontinental flights or closer to Lisbon. People and more people. Suddenly I felt like I was in London or Paris, but on a more confined scale. Thank goodness it is only in the arrivals area and you only need to move a little further away to find less chaos. One thing is certain: this is where it all starts for many and I now understand why Lisbon is full of tourists even in March. Everyone wants to come and see Portugal.