The Prime Minister assured that the privatization of TAP, which commenced today, could be halted if the Government determines that the bids do not safeguard the country’s strategic interest.
“If perhaps none of the proposals safeguard the interest we consider strategically relevant, the decree we have now approved includes the possibility of, at any moment, suspending or even thwarting this procedure without any indemnity consequences” for the interested parties, announced Luís Montenegro in a statement to journalists at his official residence in São Bento, without entertaining questions.
The Government approved today the decree-law that initiates the privatization process of TAP, intending to sell up to 49% of the airline’s share capital.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that “there will be many interested parties” in acquiring part of the share capital of the Portuguese airline, with proposals to be evaluated by the Government “from a financial, technical, and strategic point of view.”
“We believe that safeguarding the country’s strategic interest requires that the management of the Portuguese airline can be framed with opening its share capital to companies, groups that can bring the possibility for this operation to be competitive and sustainable in the international context,” emphasized Luís Montenegro.
The approval of the decree-law with the conditions for TAP’s sale is the first step towards launching the airline’s privatization, which will once again have private shareholders after the government moved towards nationalization in 2020 due to the pandemic’s impact on air transport.
The decree-law will also need to pass by the President of the Republic, who, in October 2023, vetoed the document drafted by António Costa’s Government to start TAP’s privatization. At the time, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decided to return the diploma, approved in the Council of Ministers on September 28 of that year, as it “raised multiple doubts and reservations in light of the desired maximum transparency of the process.”
The discussion over the airline’s reprivatization has been ongoing since 2023 but was halted by the collapse of the last two PS and PSD governments.
Since then, the airline’s financial performance has declined. In 2024, it returned to profit but saw a nearly 70% decrease compared to 2023, amounting to 53.7 million euros.
The company’s latest accounts, relating to the first quarter of 2025 — typically the sector’s weakest period — returned it to the red, with a loss of 108.2 million, 18.1 million more than during the same period last year. This year’s Easter occurring in April instead of March also contributed to the poor performance.
Originally state-owned, TAP was partially privatized in 2015, but the process was reversed in 2016 by António Costa’s Government, which reclaimed 50% of the company — a decision that sparked criticism due to the financial risk assumed by the State.
Last year, Luís Montenegro’s administration resumed the issue and expressed intent to proceed with selling a minority stake in 2025. Since then, negotiations have been underway with large European groups such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and IAG.
The Government justifies the process by the need to preserve the Lisbon hub — a flight distribution platform — and the airline’s strategic routes while seeking to recover part of the 3.2 billion euros invested by the State during the pandemic within the restructuring plan.
