Portugal's airports handled over 51 million passengers throughout 2026, with 7.9 million of those recorded in August alone. The United Kingdom remains the primary country of origin for international arrivals.
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Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz stated that the government intends to maintain control over TAP's strategic assets—such as its headquarters, its Lisbon hub, and connections to the islands and PALOP countries—even in a full privatization scenario. To achieve this, the government plans to create a Portuguese Supervisory Council with equal representation to monitor these strategic interests, regardless of the airline's ownership structure.
The Minister of Finance stated that failing to take advantage of the Lufthansa offer to acquire 100% of TAP would be a historic mistake. The government is currently weighing the privatization path for the state-owned airline.
Lufthansa has been selected to purchase TAP in a two-phase process, with the first phase seeing the German airline pay 1.025 billion euros for a 44.99% stake, potentially rising to 1.201 billion if workers do not subscribe to their 5% tranche. A second phase, following the 2028 closing of the first, involves purchasing the remaining 50.1% for 863 million euros in cash plus 488 million euros in Lufthansa shares, bringing the total potential state return to roughly 2.55 billion euros. Additionally, the proposal includes a 500 million euro investment for a pilot school in Tancos, which may also support civil flights.