The Portuguese government has decided to put 49.9% of the shares of the national airline TAP up for sale, including 5% intended for employees. According to Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, the largest European airline groups have already expressed interest in the deal – Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and the owner of British Airways, the IAG holding. All applications will be assessed based on financial, technical and strategic criteria.
TAP’s key assets remain routes to Brazil, the United States and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. The Portuguese authorities intend to retain the airline’s base hub in Lisbon and control over strategic routes, making this a mandatory condition for the sale.
This is already the second attempt to partially privatize TAP in recent years. In 2015, the country sold 61% of the shares to the Atlantic Gateway consortium, but later increased its stake back to 50%. TAP currently remains the largest fully state-owned airline in Europe, but political instability in Portugal may again affect the course of the deal.