Cabo Ruivo Seaplane Base

The primary reason for closure was technological obsolescence. The post-WWII era saw the rapid development of long-range, land-based aircraft such as the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation. These new airliners were faster, more comfortable, had greater passenger capacity, and were more economical to operate than the flying boats. Lisbon's land-based Portela Airport (now Humberto Delgado Airport), which opened in 1942, progressively absorbed all international traffic, rendering the seaplane base redundant.

The site of the former seaplane base is unrecognizable today. The entire area was completely redeveloped to host the 1998 World Exposition (Expo '98) and is now known as Parque das Nações (Park of Nations). This modern district is a major leisure, commercial, and residential hub in Lisbon. The water basin where the seaplanes once landed is now the Doca dos Olivais, a recreational marina. The location of the original terminal building is marked by a commemorative plaque and a monument in the form of a stylized sundial, serving as a tribute to the pioneers of transatlantic aviation who used the base.

The Cabo Ruivo Seaplane Base holds significant importance in aviation history. Inaugurated in 1942 (though used by Pan Am from 1939), it was Europe's primary gateway for transatlantic air travel during World War II. As Portugal was a neutral country, Lisbon became a critical hub for diplomats, spies, celebrities, and refugees fleeing the conflict. The base was famously operated by Pan American World Airways, which ran its luxurious Boeing 314 'Clipper' flying boats on the vital route connecting New York to Lisbon (often via Horta in the Azores and Bermuda). BOAC also operated services connecting it to the UK and its colonies. This era cemented Lisbon's reputation as a wartime crossroads, an atmosphere famously, if inaccurately, captured in the film 'Casablanca' (which depicts a land airport, but the seaplane base was the true nexus for such escapes). It was the only functioning transatlantic civilian airport in continental Europe for much of the war.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening the Cabo Ruivo Seaplane Base. The site has been fundamentally and permanently transformed into a dense urban park and marina. The necessary infrastructure is gone, and the surrounding area is heavily developed with modern buildings, including the Altice Arena and the Lisbon Oceanarium. The current use of the land and water as a public recreational and commercial space is incompatible with aviation operations.