Country ‘must unite’ to save national airline, CEO tells parliament
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of TAP, said in the parliament on that the country should unite to save the flag carrier from the effects of the pandemic.
The CEO of Portugal’s national airline, TAP, Antonoaldo Neves, told members of parliament on Tuesday that the country should unite to save the flag carrier from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and to prepare a plan for its future.
In testimony to the committee on economic, innovation, public works and housing, Neves said he considered it necessary “to unite the country to save TAP from the pandemic.”
He also argued that the airline would not have survived the pandemic if it had not been for the investments it had made over the last four years, for example in renewing it fleet of planes and expanding its route network, notably with flights to the US.
“The challenge is very big and it is global,” Neves said. “The demand will not come at the speed we would like. It’s very important right now for the country to unite around TAP’s future plan.”
Portugal’s Socialist government has indicated that any large-scale injection of capital into the company, which is 50% publicly owned, must mean more influence for the state, which currently has no input into its day-to-day management.
