Portugal gives go-ahead to reprivatise 51% of its flag carrier TAP

02-10-23

The Portuguese government continues to make progress in the process of reprivatising TAP Air Portugal, announced at the end of last year. The Portuguese government has approved in the Council of Ministers the sale of at least 51% of the capital of the country's flag carrier -which was privatised in 2015 and renationalised in 2020-, with the intention of guaranteeing its growth and preserving the Lisbon hub.

Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Medina explained on Thursday that the decree law for the reprivatisation of the company has already been approved and that 5% of the capital will be reserved for the workers. The Portuguese government is looking for an investor "of scale" in the airline sector to guarantee investment and employment in the airline.

Interest from large airline groups

So far, the favourite of the government led by Prime Minister António Costa is Lufthansa Group, which is currently the best positioned after recently incorporating the also privatised ITA Airways (formerly Alitalia). However, the powerful French-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM and, lastly, the Spanish-British holding company International Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of Iberia and British Airways, among other airlines, have also shown interest in TAP.