The decision, last week, by the Portuguese government to move forward with the privatization of its national carrier, TAP Air Portugal, was announced with conditions attached when it comes to the country’s airports.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said that the plan was to sell 49.9% of the company’s share capital in a first phase. A Decree-Law that initiates the process to privatize TAP has been approved by the Council of Ministers.  

Montenegro said: “We wish to ensure our airline safeguards the Lisbon hub, and makes the most of the country’s airport infrastructure, namely Humberto Delgado airport today and, tomorrow, Luís de Camões (the New Lisbon Airport), but also Porto and Faro airports, and those in the autonomous regions.”

Five Core Objectives

Following on from Montenegro’s statement, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, outlined five key objectives of the TAP privatization:

• Recover the amounts invested by the state, which were, in recent years, claimed to be more than EUR3.2 billion (USD3.7 billion)
• Strengthen competence in aviation and engineering and maintain strategic routes serving Portuguese communities and Portuguese-speaking countries, and protect employment
• Grow TAP with the help of private investment
• Maintain the TAP brand, and keep the headquarters and management in Lisbon
• Create synergies to increase international competitiveness.

According to one local news source, Pinto Luz also stated that an expansion plan for Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) in Porto would be presented either later this year or early in 2026 by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, which is owned by France’s VINCI Airports. By next March, runway upgrades at OPO costing close to USD60 million should be finished, opening up new possibilities for the second-busiest gateway in Portugal, serving nearly 16 million passengers in 2024.

In May this year, TAP opened a new service (four flights a week) from OPO to Boston, USA. ANA Airports CEO, Thierry Liggoniêre, described this inaugural flight as a “milestone” and “the result of continuous and collaborative work with TAP Air Portugal as a strategic partner.” He added: “This commitment to Porto not only reinforces our connection to the North American market and the Portuguese diaspora, but also confirms the role of Porto Airport as a strategic platform for the development of new international routes.”

TAP currently serves OPO with 17 direct long-haul flights per week, to New York (Newark), Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Luanda, and now Boston. In addition, the company offers 127 weekly medium-haul flights from Porto, including connections within Portugal, but also other destinations such as Paris, London (Gatwick), Geneva, Zurich, and Luxembourg.

Protecting Existing Infrastructure and Routes

Prime Minister Montenegro stressed TAP’s privatization would safeguard the “most strategic” routes for Portugal, and “the country’s strategic interests”, as well as creating a more sustainable airline. He added: “We must make the most of the investments made in all airports, our road network, and our rail network, so that people can move around—but also so that our companies can be more competitive, so that our tourism has even better results.

“We have already spent a lot of money (and) we do not want to continue throwing money into a bottomless pit—we want the airline to be profitable, well managed, set within a competitive framework, be financially sustainable, and at the service of the country’s strategic interest.”

The Portuguese government expects to have the TAP privatization completed within a year, although it is awaiting some decisions from external regulatory institutions.