“There’s no point in having a new airport” without TAP
"I really think that TAP is probably one of the most critical companies for our collective future. But there is also no point in having a significant new airport without TAP," said Siza Vieira.
The Minister of the Economy considers that TAP “is one of the most critical companies” for the country’s future but, even so, he believes that “it is not worth having a new airport” without the national airline. And he justifies this, mentioning that the airport movement has grown in Lisbon “because TAP has grown” and that other operators have been motivated to operate in the national territory.
“TAP is probably one of the most critical companies for our collective future. I assume that clearly. But there is also no point in having a significant new airport without TAP,” Pedro Siza Vieira said this Friday during the 46th Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism (APAVT), being held in Aveiro.
Siza Vieira praised the airline’s importance to the country, such as the contribution of almost 2% of GDP that TAP had for exports in 2019. “Making a company with TAP’s characteristics disappear would have a negative impact on our trade balance. We would still manage to have some air connectivity, but we would have a big negative impact,” he added.
He also explained that “airport traffic has grown in Lisbon because TAP has grown. TAP’s growth encouraged other operators to come to Portugal”. Without the national airline, Portela “would be a secondary airport, at best”.
