TAP extends “lay-off” until May 31

Tobi Hughes·
News Blog

The Board of Directors of Transportadora Aérea Portuguesa decided to extend the lay-off period for a further 30 days, until May 31, considering that the conditions that led to the adhesion to the measure are maintained in early April.

Covid-19: TAP extends lay-off until May 31

“Considering that the conditions that made us adhere to this measure remain, in the vast majority, namely the restrictions on the mobility of citizens from all over the world and the uncertainties regarding the resumption of activity, we will extend the period of ‘lay-off’ for a supplementary period of 30 days, until May 31, according to the decree-law that regulates this matter ”, informed the airline’s Board of Directors today, in a letter to which Lusa had access.

The air carrier also clarifies that employees will be informed individually about the modality that will be applied to them in extending the ‘lay-off’ and reiterates that “everything will be done to protect the jobs, health and safety of the TAP family”.

Currently, TAP has its operation suspended almost entirely, maintaining only flights to Terceira and Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, and to Funchal, in Madeira, mainly for repatriation flights and transport of humanitarian cargo.

On April 2, the airline resorted to the simplified lay-off program, made available by the Government as one of the measures to support companies suffering from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the economy.

In a letter sent to the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) and signed by the carrier’s Executive Committee, on March 20, TAP asked the State for guarantees for two possible financing operations, by Haitong and ICBC Spain, for a total of 350 million euros.

On April 14, in an interview with Rádio Observador, the Prime Minister did not exclude the recourse to nationalization of TAP, stating that there is “no reason to exclude any public action instrument that may prove necessary”.

“It is certainly not in our minds [of the Government] to nationalize the Observer. Regarding TAP, where the State is already a shareholder, we all know that the civil aviation sector suffered this crisis situation devastatingly”, said, at the time, the leader of the executive.

Portugal accounts for 903 deaths associated with covid-19 in 23,864 confirmed cases of infection, according to the daily bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) on the pandemic.

The “Great Confinement” has led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make unprecedented forecasts in its almost 75 years: the world economy may fall 3% in 2020, dragged by a 5.9% contraction in the United States, from 7, 5% in the eurozone and 5.2% in Japan.

For Portugal, the IMF predicts a recession of 8% and an unemployment rate of 13.9% in 2020.

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Tobi Hughes

14 Responses

  1. I am guessing that the airport will stay closed to all but the routine TAP flights from Lisbon.

    1. The airport is not closed but there is still mandatory quarantine for all arriving passengers in place so unlikey airlines will sell tickets with that restriction in force. We don’t know yet when that restriction will be lifted, there will be a conference held by the regional government at the end of the week to say which restrictions will be alleviated in the next few days.

      2. Antonio, the airport IS closed to all flights except the twice weekly TAP flights and the Swiftair cargo flights.

        1. I’m sorry Maurice but the airport is not closed. It never was. There was that intention from the local government but it did not get the authorization from the Republic. This was when it has been decided that everyone arriving would be on mandatory quarantine in the hotels. There are no closed airports in Portugal right now, although there are almost no flights either.

          The only two weekly flights with limited capacity has been a request from the regional government to TAP. TAP started the crisis with two daily flights, then 3 weekly, then 2 weekly, then two weekly carrying at most 100 passengers in total. That has been a request from the government, it is not a law.

        2. Maurice, have you seen that stated as the official policy? I was under the impression that it was the airlines themselves that chose to stop flying to Madeira because the quarantine rules had reduced the demand for seats to almost zero. I was under the impression that if Easyjet wanted to send a flight tomorrow from London to Funchal, they could ?

          1. I easyJet were to try and send a flight it I reckon it would be rejected as soon as the flight plan was lodged.

        3. Maurice, I did not realise that the Madeiran government had that autonomous power. Interesting.

  2. Going to put ourselves in boxes with perishable on outside and send ourselves first class, on second thoughts, having experience of post of Portugal might rethink this one???

  3. Our TAP flight on May 14 to Toronto was cancelled some time ago & those flights were posted as starting up again on May 18. After yesterday’s announcement, all those posted flights are gone & there is nothing on their website even after May 31 for that route, so I guess they haven’t decided on a date yet to restart.

  4. Could it be that the central government are bankrolling the TAP flights to the island to ensure that the island does not become ‘cut off’ from the mainland? Maintaining a permanent link between the two is of pretty vital political and logistical importance, so if no airline wants to do it, it makes sense for the government to ensure that their flag carrier continues to do so.

  5. TAP AirPortugal is the worst airline I have flown with. As to when the island will be opened up again it is all rather academic. We seem to be battling successfully to eradicate Covid 19 from the island but it is a very internal matter. With few incoming people in their very small numbers being quarantined we could see a period of nil infections. Let us hope so. But as soon as tourism starts, if before a vaccine, then there is sure to be a resurgence of coronavirus here. What will they do then? Quarantine whole hotels?

    Yes, it is going to be very, very tough for the Madeirans until a vaccine is developed to beat Covid 19. TAP resuming flights at the end of May? Unlikely to help the local economy, more likely cause it even greater harm.

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