It’s game on for another round of airline consolidation in Europe. The Portuguese Council of Ministers has approved the plan to privatize TAP Air Portugal and sell 51 percent. At least five percent will be reserved for the airline’s employees, the government announced on Thursday. The state currently is the sole shareholder.
During a press conference, Minister of Finance Fernando Medina said that the privatization has five targets. The first is to ensure that TAP Air Portugal can continue to grow under a new minority owner. The second is that Lisbon can be developed and grow as the main hub beyond the 53 percent market share it has there now. TAP should also grow end-to-end operations and operate to what Media referred to as untapped capacity at domestic airports. The priority is Porto, where low-cost carriers like easyJet and Ryanair
have gained market share.
Together, this should safeguard jobs in the Portuguese aviation sector, while the proceeds of the privatization should benefit the national state. Since the start of the pandemic, the Portuguese state has committed to investing €2.544 billion in restructuring aid in TAP. The last tranche of €980 million consists of three parts, of which the first €294 million was paid in December 2022. Part two of €343 million will be paid this coming December and the last one of €343 million in December 2024. TAP Air Portugal received another €178.5 million in Covid aid.
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