A1 Flood Closure: TAP Adds 7 Flights to Cut Lisbon-Porto Travel Time

TAP Air Portugal has quietly added extra Lisbon-Porto flights, a stop-gap that could shave up to 2 hours off journeys while the country’s backbone motorway A1 stays closed near Coimbra.

Why This Matters

• 7 additional flights weekly on the air bridge starting today.

• Rail services still patchy, with forced bus transfers in the Coimbra area.

• A1 detour via A8/A17/A25 may add 30-60 minutes and extra tolls.

• Businesses face higher logistics costs just as Carnival shopping season peaks.

The Situation at a Glance

The Portugal Infrastructure Ministry confirmed that a section of the A1 between km 189 and km 198 remains off-limits after storm-driven floods ruptured a Mondego River dike. Crews are dumping tonnes of rip-rap under the viaduct, but Brisa, the concession­aire, says a full reopening could be "weeks, not days" away.

To blunt the paralysis on the north-south spine, TAP’s network planners redeployed jets from European routes with slack winter demand. Seat maps show a shift from 168-seat A320s to 214-seat A321neos on peak morning rotations, and the airline is holding slots at both Humberto Delgado and Francisco Sá Carneiro for short-notice up-gauges if bookings spike.

Meanwhile, CP-Comboios de Portugal has restarted only eight long-distance trains per day—half the normal schedule—and even those require a bus bridge between Coimbra-B and Pombal, stretching the usual 2 h 50 min rail ride to well over 4 h in some cases.

Pressure on the Detours

Drivers funneled onto the IC2 report bumper-to-bumper traffic near Mealhada and Alcanena, where urban crossings and tractors slow the flow. The alternative coastal A17 corridor is coping better but still sees sporadic queues at the Aveiro tolls. Logistics analysts at APAT estimate freight operators are spending €40-€60 extra in fuel and tolls per Lisbon-Porto leg, costs likely to cascade into retail prices for fresh food and e-commerce parcels by early March.

What This Means for Residents

• Daily commuters: The honest door-to-door fastest option is now a 40-minute hop on TAP, especially if your employer covers checked-bag fees. Advance fares have risen, but frequent-flyer seats remain at 5,000 miles plus €7 taxes.

• Small exporters: Consider rerouting vans via the A8/A17 coastal axis outside peak hours; telematics data show a more predictable average speed than the IC2.

• Students & backpackers: CP’s promo “Bilhete Digital Flex” is still valid, but expect a cramped coach ride in the middle.

• Insurance holders: Check policies for “extraordinary travel disruption” clauses; some insurers reimburse the air fare difference when the motorway network is officially impassable.

The Repair Timeline—Best-Case Scenarios

Civil engineers from the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering say the first phase—stabilising the north-south embankment—could finish by late February if rainfall stays below 10 mm per day. Phase 2, rebuilding the south-to-north carriageway, depends on river levels receding and may push completion into mid-March. A final resurfacing layer and safety tests add another 7-10 days. In short, Easter travel could witness the first free-flow run, but no official promise yet exists.

Looking Ahead

Meteorologists at IPMA expect three more Atlantic depressions before month-end, each with the potential to nudge river levels back up. Contingency planners inside Infraestruturas de Portugal are mapping emergency culvert bypasses should the Mondego basin swell again. For travellers, that means the current multimodal patchwork—extra flights, skeleton trains, congested detours—may linger longer than anyone likes. Keep an eye on TAP’s app at 18:00 daily; that is when the carrier typically releases last-minute discount seats on the shuttle. Until the A1’s concrete is cured and dry, the sky might be your least stressful lane between Portugal’s two biggest cities.