The Minister of Infrastructure assures that the government is in contact with oil companies regarding aviation fuel stock levels at national airports, stating that no TAP flight cancellations are expected for now. Miguel Pinto Luz emphasized that the issue is international and European in scale, and the government is working to ensure supply stability. Regarding the potential impact on the privatization of TAP, the minister declined to comment, noting that updates on the airline will be provided soon. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency has warned of potential fuel shortages in Europe, and the aviation sector is bracing for possible disruptions due to the ongoing energy crisis and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Government guarantees monitoring of fuel stocks and does not anticipate TAP cancellations
Monday, 20 April 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
TAP Air Portugal is Portugal’s flag-carrier airline, founded on 14 March 1945 as Transportes Aéreos Portugueses. It began operations in 1946 with Lisbon–Madrid and quickly opened the long “Linha Aérea Imperial” to Angola and Mozambique, symbolically linking mainland Portugal to its overseas territories. TAP entered the jet age in the 1960s, became Europe’s first all‑jet airline in 1967, and rebranded as TAP Air Portugal in 1979. Nationalised after the 1974 Carnation Revolution, it went through cycles of partial privatisation and renationalisation, remaining a strategic state‑controlled company due to its role in connectivity, tourism, exports, and the Portuguese diaspora, especially to Brazil, Africa, and North America. Today TAP operates an all‑Airbus fleet from its Lisbon hub, marketing itself as a bridge between Europe, Africa, and the Americas and as a key economic and symbolic asset for Portugal.
