The Minister of Infrastructure acknowledged regulatory risks from competition authorities regarding Lufthansa's planned acquisition of a stake in TAP Air Portugal. European regulators could require the airline to surrender airport take-off and landing slots on routes where competition would be reduced following the German carrier's entry. Meanwhile, the government plans to prepare an initial public offering for the 5% TAP stake reserved for employees by early 2027.
TAP Faces Competition Scrutiny Over Lufthansa Investment Deal
Saturday, 17 October 2026AI summary
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.
