As part of TAP's restructuring plan, established in 2020 and which has state aid to the airline, the company began the process of "returning" 18 daily slots of operations at Humberto Delgado Airport, in Lisbon (Portugal).
The process of transferring the slots will be supervised by the company Alcis, appointed by the Council of the European Union to monitor the entire process and guarantee the neutrality of the distribution. The company has already opened the period for the submission of proposals from other airlines, which will end on March 24th.
The entire slot redistribution process must be carried out by July 25, when the companies that will “win” more slots will be publicly announced, operations starting in October this year. The final decision comes out on June 13th.
The redistribution of slots is full of details, mainly to prevent companies that have won state aid or are d with TAP from gaining more market. For this reason, the redistribution of slots caught the attention of Low Cost airlines, such as Ryanair, which aim to gain market share in the largest Portuguese market.
Airlines that have received state aid above 250 million euros cannot participate in the process. And during the selection of proposals, Alcis will also evaluate the size of each aircraft for the operated slot, seeking to increase the competing offer capacity at Humberto Delgado Airport. The number of destinations operated with the 18 slots will also be evaluated.
In your restructuring process TAP has agreed to dispose of several companies in the group, including its subsidiary Portugalia, its handling company (Groundforce) and maintenance company in Brazil TAP M&E (formerly Varig Engenharia e Importação). The company also agreed to give back 5% of its slots, as mentioned above.
With information publico.pt .
