Portuguese president signs law approving partial privatization of TAP Air Portugal

The government has outlined specific expectations for potential investors: maintaining TAP’s brand identity, expanding its fleet and route network—especially routes connecting Portuguese-speaking countries—and investing in local sustainable aviation fuel production projects. Investors must also continue operations at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) as well as secondary airports such as Porto and Faro.

President de Sousa commented on the level of interest: “There are more interested parties than we thought, which means it’s an interesting business. It’s not just the classic ones, but others as well. That’s a good sign. Ideally, we will see TAP integrated into a larger group within a year, with a greater capacity to generate synergies and positive value."

TAP stands out among Iberian Peninsula airlines seeking strategic partners due to its size and position within Europe’s aviation sector. In contrast with Spanish carrier Air Europa—which remains engaged only with Turkish Airlines after failed talks with other groups—TAP is one of Europe’s top 20 airlines by passenger count and fleet size.

A member of Star Alliance, TAP carried 16 million passengers in 2024 and reported net income of $62.3 million (€53.7 million) on record revenue of $4.9 billion (€4.2 billion). Its mainline fleet consists entirely of Airbus aircraft—80 planes currently—with another 22 on order; its regional subsidiary TAP Express operates an additional 19 Embraer E190/195s.

Data from Cirium indicates that during the first half of 2025, TAP operated flights on 100 routes serving 89 airports across Europe and beyond—including an extensive network connecting Brazil (14 destinations) and rapid growth into North America (11 destinations).

The sale process will proceed through four phases: pre-qualification (60 days), proposal submissions focused on synergy creation (Q4), short-listing for binding offers following due diligence (likely narrowing bidders down to two or three), then final negotiations leading up to completion of the transaction.

The government hopes to announce new partners by mid-2026; however, this timeline depends on how many parties enter negotiations and how quickly regulatory hurdles can be cleared within the EU framework.