Economy Minister says all international operators who want to apply for TAP reprivatization are ‘welcome’

Economy Minister António Costa Silva said this Friday that all international operators wishing to apply to reprivatize TAP are “welcome” because “the more competitive the tender, the better the results.”

“At this stage, the company is recovering, it already has positive results, conditions for reprivatization have been created, so all international operators who want to come for reprivatization are invited. This is a fundamental aspect. If it’s Iberia, if it’s other companies… no [é] specifically be Iberia. At the moment we cannot exclude anyone,” the minister told reporters this Friday in Guarda, where he was asked about an interview with the Spanish newspaper Eleconomista.es about TAP.

António Costa Silva, in an interview with a Spanish newspaper, acknowledged the benefits of a possible purchase of TAP by the group that owns the Iberia airline due to links with Madrid and the boost it could give to tourism.

“Connection to the “hub” at Barajas Airport [Madrid] will boost both tourism and the country’s economy, and here not only TAP, but also Iberia plays an important role,” the minister said.

This Friday in Guarda, on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the memorandum and the presentation of the Turismo Hotel Rehabilitation Model, he told reporters that, in his opinion, “who wants to apply and submit proposals, be extremely important”: “Because the more competitive the competition, the better we get results.”

“The problem often with things like this is to have a candidate who then, given his position, makes the ‘play’ because he knows he’s in a strong position. And I’m always for […] there must be at least two or more candidates. I think we need to attract, make the process competitive, and then the country will have a good solution,” he justified.

When asked by journalists about the decision related to Iberia, he replied that he did not comment on the “lack of a decision”, arguing that the country should “attract proposals and the more the better.”

“I think it was important for Iberia to also step into the game, as other companies do. Then the solution is something else. At this stage, we must ensure maximum interest in TAP and in the reprivatization process. I think it’s important. it is important to have a good solution,” he said.

With regard to TAP, the Minister of Economy said in the same interview with a Spanish newspaper that “it is now a reorganized company and appropriate conditions have been created for privatization” and for the participation of “Iberia and other interested international operators.” .

Iberia is owned by the IAG group, which also owns Vueling, British Airways and Aer Lingus, and currently flies to the Portuguese airports of Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira.

“We have to pay attention to air travel because there are studies that show that it conditions our economy compared to the rest of Europe because we are a peripheral country,” Costa Silva said.