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Portuguese airline TAP Air Portugal is to re-privatised, the nation’s prime minister said on Thursday, with European airlines among those interested in participating in the process. Luis Montenegro in a televised address said the government has approved a law that would allow for the reprivatisation of TAP, which over its roughly 80 years of history has drifted in and out of state control. It was bailed out by the government in 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which sapped demand for travel and emptied skies. Portugal aims to sell a 49.9% stake in TAP within a year. Montengro said the reprivatisation process could be suspended should there be no interest, though the Portuguese PM believes ‘there will be many interested’. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA welcome the announcement. ‘As we have previously stated, IAG looks forward to reviewing the terms of the potential sale of TAP and will carefully consider all details and conditions of the process as soon as they are made available,’ said a spokesperson for the owner of both Iberia and Vueling in Spain, as well as British Airways and Aer Lingus. Air France KLM SA also noted the announcement. ‘Air France-KLM repeatedly indicated its strong interest for this process and is keen to participate to the process once the details will be known more precisely,’ a spokesperson said. IAG shares were down 0.4% in London on Friday morning. Air France KLM was down 0.3% in Friday afternoon in Paris. TAP, whose main hub is Lisbon airport, carried 16.1 million passengers last year. It flies to over 80 destinations, including European cities and a number of locations in Brazil. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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