Moedas says Lisbon City Council “never” received warnings about problems

The Mayor of Lisbon said today that the city council had "never" received any information about any problems with the Glória elevator and stated that it was "not true" that this facility had seen an increase in passengers.

"We never received any information or information about any problem with the Glória elevator at a council meeting or a meeting. If there was any knowledge or someone had that knowledge, we need to know where that knowledge was, because it wasn't received," said Carlos Moedas (PSD) at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly meeting.

The PSD mayor was responding to PCP municipal deputy Natacha Amaro, who asked how Carris management had handled the warnings made by Carris workers about “signs of anomalies” in the operation of the Glória elevator.

Carlos Moedas assured that the council had no information in this regard because it did not arrive, "neither through the councilors, nor through the people who attended the council meeting, nor here at the Municipal Assembly, nor the vice-president in the various meetings he had with many of the workers."

Natacha Amaro also sought to find out whether the maintenance and inspection protocols for the Glória elevator are “adjusted to the significant change in demand and usage patterns,” resulting from the growth in tourist demand in Lisbon, particularly over the last two decades.

In response, Carlos Moedas stated that "the numbers do not show" an increase in passengers due to tourism, so "it is not true", indicating that, in 2019, there were 972 thousand users and, in 2024, 872 thousand were registered, "that is, there are 100 thousand fewer".

"There wasn't an increase or a higher load that increased every year because there were more and more tourists. That's not true. The numbers don't say that," he explained.

The mayor emphasized that there is an important mission to understand what happened in the accident with the Glória elevator, allowing the independent investigation to move forward, but also to defend Carris workers, where "the company's hallmark has been safety."

"We must be absolutely certain that these elevators are safe," the Social Democrat said, recalling the decision to immediately suspend the operation of all elevators in the city until they undergo an inspection to ensure their safety.

Carlos Moedas also said that the city council is working to get the Glória elevator back up and running, using a new technological safety mechanism.

The Glória elevator derailed on Wednesday, causing 16 deaths and two dozen injuries, including Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.