Timeline of facts and decisions.

The Alter do Chão Municipal Assembly unanimously approves the Amendment to the 1st Review of the Municipal Master Plan, under a proposal by the Municipality chaired by Francisco Miranda. The approved regulation classifies the area that, three years later, will be indicated for the firing range as a Forest Conservation Area. Article 17, no. 6, of the regulation prohibits new construction and drastic change of land use in this category.

Publication in the Diário da República, 2nd Series, no. 186, of Notice 18418/2023. Marks the formal entry into force of the PDM regulation in force.

The Luís Montenegro Government approves the location of the new Lisbon airport (Luís de Camões) at the Alcochete firing range. The decision obliges the relocation of the military polygon and is the origin of the decision-making chain that leads to Alter do Chão.

The National Gas Transport Network publishes the annual update of the official map, which confirms the passage of the Campo Maior–Leiria gas pipeline, the main point of entry for natural gas in Portugal at 85 bar, through the municipality of Alter do Chão. Public document, quotable.

According to what is allegedly reported by the Mayor himself at the municipal meeting in March 2026 and by the local PS statement of 19 March 2026, conversations between the Ministry of National Defence, the Portuguese Air Force and the municipal executive will have started this month. No local democratic structure was informed during the fourteen months that separate this start from the public announcement. The minutes of the municipal meeting in which the mayor confirms this date lack direct verification.

Determines the Air Force to prepare the studies for the new location and assigns to the Directorate-General of Armament and National Defence Heritage (DGAPDN) the competence for subsequent acts, including eventual expropriations. Act that administratively prepares the expropriation process. Sets the end of 2025 as the deadline for the location studies.

The Decree-Law that strengthens the protection of the Cabeção Special Conservation Zone (PTCON0029), which covers part of the territory of Alter do Chão, is published. An act by the State itself to strengthen environmental protection in the exact territory where, a month later, it will announce military occupation.

Complements Decree-Law No. 35/2026 with the Cabeção SAC Management Plan, with 48,394 hectares covering Avis, Ponte de Sor, Mora and Alter do Chão. Identifies 25 habitats and 8 protected species, including habitat 3170 (Mediterranean temporary ponds) and the endemic species Halimium umbellatum var. verticillatum, whose global distribution is concentrated in more than 60 per cent in this site. Reinforces the legal tension between environmental protection and military occupation.

General João Cartaxo Alves is appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA). Lieutenant-General Sérgio Costa Pereira succeeds him as Chief of the Air Force General Staff (CEMFA). General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão is reappointed as Chief of the Army General Staff (CEME) for another two years. Institutional continuity at the critical moment of the decision.

The Court of Justice of the European Union condemns Portugal to a fixed fine of 10 million euros and a daily compulsory fine of 41,250 euros, calculated at 750 euros per day for each Special Conservation Zone not yet properly designated (55 SACs missing at the date). The Portuguese State invokes the seven Decree-Laws of January and February 2026 (including DL 35/2026 on Cabeção) as proof of compliance. Announcing the violation of this diploma in Alter do Chão six days later exposes the public purse to additional financial aggravation.

At a press conference in Lisbon, the Minister of National Defence Nuno Melo declares Alter do Chão as the destination of the new firing range. Present at the conference: the Mayor Francisco Miranda (who thanks the "strategic and political vision"), the CEMGFA General João Cartaxo Alves, the SEAPDN Nuno Pinheiro Torres and the CEMFA General Sérgio Pereira. The Minister explicitly states that the "impact studies and others" are those "that follow from the law and will be carried out" — publicly acknowledging that the legally required studies had not yet been carried out.

The Government publishes on portugal.gov.pt the statement "Alter do Chão will receive a firing range as an alternative to Alcochete". A document that formalises and makes the content of the press conference archivable.

In a PÚBLICO report ("Não é bom em lado nenhum"), nature conservation organisations such as SPEA and FAPAS voice opposition to the location, warning of the impact on the threatened steppe birds (little bustard, great bustard, lesser kestrel, Montagu's harrier) and on the Natura 2000 network.

The Parliamentary Group of Bloco de Esquerda questions the Government about the choice of Alter do Chão. First formal parliamentary oversight initiative of the case.

The Parliamentary Group of Partido Comunista Português, through its Portalegre Regional Organisation Directorate (DORPOR), formally asks the Government about the exact location of the land, the identification of affected farmers, compatibility with the Pisão Dam, compatibility with the Alter Real Royal Stud, the impact on regional tourism, and incompatibility with the Ponte de Sor Municipal Aerodrome.

A television report brings together two distinct voices: Mayor Francisco Miranda presents IC13 as a counterpart to the transfer, referring to the 2013 Preliminary Study; soon after, an agricultural entrepreneur from Herdade da Chancelaria (1,200 hectares in private rent regime) takes up the same IC13 and formulates the memorable quote "when there are counterparts, it's because it's not good". The report documents on the ground the impact on agricultural explorations and refers to 50 affected companies and over 100 jobs at risk.

Deputy Luís Testa and four other Partido Socialista deputies present an initiative with nine questions addressed to the Government. Consolidated multi-party pressure.

A Portuguese Air Force F-16 breaks the sound barrier over Figueira da Foz, with windows shaking in houses and shops, widespread alarm among residents and reports described by the local press as "unprecedented boom". The Air Force initially denies and only later acknowledges. The event is direct operational evidence of the sonic effect produced by the same F-16s that the Government plans to use from the Alter do Chão firing range, and disproves the ministerial minimisation made on 11 March ("the flights are very few, the launches even fewer").

Joana Caldeira Valverde de Azeredo Vasconcelos launches the petition "Alter do Chão, No to the Firing Range" on the peticaopublica.com portal. Start of the formal parliamentary citizenship route.

Deputy Pedro Pinto and four other Chega deputies request hearings in the Defence, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Environment and Energy Committees, with a detailed list of entities to be heard. Expanded scrutiny to three parliamentary fronts.

The Municipal Assembly debates the topic. Mayor Francisco Miranda admits "not having all the information yet". The minutes have not been published at the time of preparation of this chronology.

In a public interview, the Mayor states that he "has not yet accepted" the firing range and is awaiting the studies. Documented reversal of the initial position of 11 March, with a fifty-day interval.

Political reaction of the Government to the critical statements of environmental associations and the Alter Real Royal Stud. Public clarifications on the expected impact on horses and birds.

Extensive national press piece, with cross-referencing of sources and detail on the environmental, legal and socio-economic framework of the case. Reinforces the cycle of consolidated national coverage of the process.

Petition PT130367 exceeds 2,300 signatures. It exceeds by a wide margin the threshold of one thousand signatures that requires publication in the Assembly of the Republic's Journal and a hearing of the petitioners in committee.

The regional weekly publishes an opinion piece entitled "TozAIR in Alter", signed by António Alves and Almeida, which highlights the professional career of the current director-general of Armament and National Defence Heritage, António José de Morais Baptista, and his previous passage as head of the Human Resources Management division of the Alter do Chão Municipality (2021-2025), as well as his affiliation to the CDS-PP.

The first signatory of the public petition shares a 33-page technical notebook structured in 21 chapters, with cross-referenced data from the IFAP, REN, Court of Justice of the European Union and consolidated legislation. In parallel, two interventions by Minister Nuno Melo in parliamentary committee, the television report of 21 April, the F-16 Figueira da Foz report and the piece by Álvaro Vieira in Público of 10 May are processed. The case documentation integrates sixteen new vectors in Chapter X and is updated to version v02.

The Arronches Municipal Assembly unanimously approves a motion rejecting the firing range, tabled by the Socialist Party group. Arronches is part of the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park and borders the municipality of Monforte, covered by the planned perimeter.

The Fronteira Municipal Assembly approves a Chega motion against the construction of the firing range, with the AD coalition voting against. Fronteira is a directly affected municipality: it is home to the parish of Cabeço de Vide and the Sulfúrea hot springs.

The Portalegre Municipal Assembly debates three motions on the firing range, tabled by Chega, by CLIP and by the PSD/CDS coalition. The Mayor takes no position of opposition to the project and the PSD/CDS majority approves the motion that refers the matter to the Intermunicipal Community of the Alto Alentejo, rejecting the motions from Chega and CLIP, which opposed the installation.

In the National Defence Committee, replying to the deputies elected for Portalegre, the Minister states that the location is not yet decided and that the studies are ongoing, and reports that the Government has asked Parliament to extend the deadline for completing them. It confirms that the choice of Alter do Chão, announced on 11 March, preceded the legally required studies.

The Assembly of the Republic hears in committee the organisers of Public Petition PT130367, after it crossed the threshold of one thousand signatures. They present the case and ask the committee to recommend that the Government suspend the location decision until the environmental impact assessment, the Natura 2000 impact assessment and the public consultation have been completed.

The Municipal Assembly of Fronteira approves a second motion of opposition, this time tabled by the PS/MPT coalition, distinct from the Chega motion approved on 26 June. It demands the public disclosure of the studies, technical opinions and criteria behind the choice of Alter do Chão, the prior completion of the environmental, territorial and socio-economic assessments, and the formal consultation of the affected municipalities: Fronteira, Monforte, Crato, Portalegre and Ponte de Sor.

The Intermunicipal Community of the Alto Alentejo decides to set up a commission with the mayors of the affected municipalities to follow the firing-range process, giving effect to the institutional route to which the matter had been referred by the Municipal Assembly of Portalegre. The regional front consolidates at the intermunicipal level.

Deadline set in Council of Ministers Resolution No. 111/2025 for the delivery of the prior studies. Precedes the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Formal window of public participation. Written submissions from citizens, environmental organisations and farmers will be received on the participa.pt portal and joined to the procedure of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).

First administrative act with external legal effect. Its publication opens the legal deadline for contentious appeal and for a precautionary measure request.

The DUP is the act that underpins the expropriation procedure. Subject to the Expropriations Code (Law No. 168/99 and subsequent revisions). Strict deadlines for appeal and hearing of interested parties.

Final appealable act. The precautionary measures to halt the execution must be presented before the material start of the work to be legally useful.