Air France-KLM submitted its non-binding proposal to Parpública this Thursday as part of the privatisation of TAP. The Franco-Dutch group reinforces its 'continued and reiterated' interest in the Portuguese airline. 'We firmly believe that the next chapter in this airline's history should be written as part of the Air France-KLM Group, building on this legacy and elevating it...'
Air France-KLM submits non-binding proposal for TAP. Highlights experience 'working with state shareholders'
Thursday, 2 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.
