TAP “does not have conditions” to invest in Algarve, CEO says
The CEO of TAP has gone on record saying that the national airline “does not have the conditions” to invest in the Algarve any time soon.
Speaking to Dinheiro Vivo website, Luís Rodrigues explained that TAP has a “restructuring plan to fulfill until 2025, and this prevents more airplanes and new routes”.
“If at any time it is justified that it makes sense to move (airplanes) from Lisbon and Porto to the Algarve, this analysis will be done. At the moment, with the conditions we have, investing in any place means disinvesting in another, and it doesn’t seem to me that there are conditions to think about that,” the CEO said.
“We need to stabilise our operation, consolidate what we are doing well, and then from there, we’ll see,” he added.
At the moment, TAP only accounts for around 2% of all flights to and from Faro Airport, which has generated criticism from local leaders such as regional tourism chief André Gomes.
“The weight that TAP represents in the operations at Faro Airport is extremely minimal, and I say that despite taking great pride in TAP. I always prefer to fly with TAP. It’s our flagship carrier, and I believe it’s a promotional asset for the destination of Portugal worldwide. I hope there will be a shift in TAP’s approach,” André Gomes told the Resident in an exclusive interview earlier this year.
While this shift won’t happen at least until 2025, the CEO of TAP revealed that his goal is to make the airline “one of the best companies in the industry” and admitted that the focus in recent months has been to divert attention from the news away from TAP.
“The year 2023 was an unbelievable roller coaster. TAP started the year as a punching bag for a parliamentary inquiry that became a media event. Above all, we had to work to gradually shift the focus away from that and invest in a better operation,” he said.
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
