Portugal has chosen the Lufthansa Group to buy almost half of TAP Air Portugal. On 14 October the Council of Ministers picked Lufthansa over Air France-KLM, for a total of EUR 1.201 billion1. IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, did not bid when non-binding offers were due on 2 April23. The sale is not yet complete: contracts still have to be signed and Brussels has to approve the deal. This dossier sets out the whole process, from the first privatisation in 2015 to today's decision, and looks at what it could mean for the airline's pilots: the pilot union's demands, its company agreement, the fleet, training and hiring.

The terms the government attached to the sale, including who will run TAP and a bid for a majority, are covered in our follow-up article of 15 October.

The decision of 14 October

On Wednesday 14 October the Portuguese government chose Lufthansa. The Council of Ministers approved the sale of the stake to the German group, Portuguese business site ECO reported1. "With this decision, we have successfully concluded the first phase of the privatisation, in a transparent and competitive process," Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said4. Lufthansa will pay a total of EUR 1.201 billion1. According to ECO, that is made up of EUR 1.025 billion for the stake, EUR 118 million for the 5% reserved for employees, EUR 58 million for the sale of the subsidiaries Cateringpor and SPdH, and a mechanism that adjusts the price to TAP's results, valuing the whole of TAP at EUR 2.407 billion1. Air France-KLM offered EUR 1.038 billion, 13.6% less, with up to EUR 100 million more if TAP met profit and debt targets by 2028; ECO said that uncertainty weighed on the government's choice1.

Before the decision, Portuguese broadcaster SIC, as reported by MarketScreener and Reuters, and the business daily Jornal Económico had reported, citing unnamed sources, that Lufthansa would win567. SIC said Lufthansa's offer was all cash while Air France-KLM's combined cash with Air France-KLM shares, and pointed to Lufthansa's stronger financial position5. Diário de Notícias had described Lufthansa as the favourite8.

The final round followed a negotiation phase. The government opened talks with both bidders in September after their binding offers of late July came out very close, and both delivered improved final offers on 30 September910.

What Portugal is selling, and on what terms

The sale is based on Decree-Law 92/2025, approved by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's Council of Ministers on 10 July 2025 and published on 14 August 20251112. In this first phase up to 49.9% of TAP is sold: up to 44.9% to a reference investor and up to 5% to employees. Any shares employees do not buy go to the investor, and the state keeps the majority12. "We do not want to keep pouring money into a bottomless pit," Montenegro said at the launch, adding that the plan safeguards the Lisbon hub11.

The decree explains the choice of a minority stake by reference to the EU rules on ownership and control of airlines (Regulation 1008/2008) and the state's wish to keep its ability to intervene. It already anticipates a possible later sale of the state's remaining stake, at a price that will "necessarily" include a control premium12.

The tender specifications, published on 22 September 2025, only admitted airline groups with aviation turnover of at least EUR 5 billion in one of the years 2022 to 202413. Bids are judged on criteria including the price per share and payment terms, where payment in shares is explicitly allowed; an industrial plan with a fleet plan and long-haul connectivity; strengthening the TAP brand and the location of its head office; links to Madeira, the Azores, the Portuguese diaspora and Portuguese-speaking countries; commitments to staff and existing collective agreements; maintenance and engineering; sustainable aviation fuel; and the absence of regulatory obstacles, including merger control13. Bidders were also asked how they view a possible later increase of their stake. No weighting of the criteria has been published13. The buyer cannot sell its shares for five years, the state has a pre-emption right, and the investor gets a right of first offer if the state sells more shares later13.

How TAP got here

This is not TAP's first privatisation. In June 2015 the then government sold 61% of the holding company TAP SGPS to Atlantic Gateway, a consortium of Portuguese businessman Humberto Pedrosa and airline entrepreneur David Neeleman; the deal was signed on 24 June and completed on 12 November 201512. The state received EUR 10 million for the stake, while the consortium committed to recapitalise the airline14. The next government, led by António Costa, reopened talks in December 2015, and a 2016 agreement brought the state back to 50% with reinforced strategic control rights12.

The pandemic changed everything. On 10 June 2020 the European Commission approved EUR 1.2 billion of rescue aid, noting that TAP had already been in financial difficulty at the end of 201915. In July 2020 the state agreed to buy out Neeleman, raising its holding to 72.5%1612. In 2021 the state became the sole shareholder of the airline, TAP SA, and from November 2022 it owned the whole holding company12.

On 21 December 2021 the Commission approved a EUR 2.55 billion restructuring package in the form of equity, including the conversion of the rescue loan17. The conditions were strict: TAP had to divest its Brazilian maintenance business, catering and ground handling, was banned from acquisitions and had to reduce its fleet until the end of the plan, and had to make up to 18 daily slots at congested Lisbon airport available to a competitor17. Those slots went to easyJet in 202218. In the 2025 privatisation decree, the government says the state injected EUR 3.2 billion of capital into TAP and that the restructuring was due to end in December 202512.

The first attempt to sell the airline again was overtaken by scandal. In December 2022 it emerged that Alexandra Reis, newly appointed as a junior finance minister, had received EUR 500,000 from TAP when she left its executive board early; Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos resigned, saying he was taking "political responsibility"19. On 6 March 2023, after the Finance Inspectorate (IGF) found the severance agreement null and void, the government dismissed chief executive Christine Ourmières-Widener and chairman Manuel Beja "for just cause" and appointed Luís Rodrigues20. A parliamentary inquiry into TAP's management approved its final report on 13 July 2023 with the votes of the governing Socialist Party alone21. Later in 2023 the Costa government tried to sell a majority of TAP, but President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sent the decree back on 27 October 2023, citing unanswered questions about state oversight and transparency22. The process stalled after a snap election, and in November 2024 the new government said it would restart the sale in 202523.

The bidders compared

When it submitted its binding offer, Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr called a stake in its Star Alliance partner TAP "the next logical step" and said the group wanted to strengthen TAP "as the leading airline for the South Atlantic, with Lisbon as a strategic hub"24. In June he said Lufthansa's interest was "very strong", adding that the government would decide27. In August he argued that the Lufthansa Group, including ITA Airways and TAP, would catch up with the current market leader in market share28.

Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith said at the binding stage: "What we have submitted today is not just a proposed price for an airline", describing the bid as part of a commitment "to create a European global aviation champion"25. With its final offer on 30 September the group said its interest in TAP was "stronger than ever" and that it would make Lisbon its exclusive hub in Southern Europe26. Air France-KLM already holds about 20% of SAS and announced in July 2025 that it planned to raise that stake to 60.5%, with closing targeted for the second half of 2026 subject to regulatory approval29.

IAG, a member of oneworld, registered interest in November 202530 but did not bid on 2 April 20262. In late March Bloomberg, as reported by ch-aviation, said IAG had concluded that a minority stake did not fit its group strategy3.

What is at stake

TAP carried 16.7 million passengers in 2025, with revenue of EUR 4.313 billion and a net profit of EUR 4.1 million, and had 99 aircraft in operation at the end of the year31. The real prize is its network. Data provider OAG said in February 2025 that TAP flies about one in four (26%) of the seats European airlines offer to Brazil and called it "the largest legacy airline in Europe that remains independent of a larger airline group"32. According to ECO, TAP operated 48% of flights at Lisbon airport in the fourth quarter of 202510. Whoever wins gains a strong position on the South Atlantic and a large footprint at Lisbon, which is why European competition approval matters so much.

What the sale means for TAP pilots

The pilot union SPAC (Sindicato dos Pilotos da Aviação Civil) has become one of the most vocal voices in the process. In February 2025 it described itself as neutral on privatisation33. In April 2026 it wrote to the government warning about Lufthansa, accusing the German group of "unethical anti-union tactics" that would "seriously compromise" labour peace if imported into TAP; it supported re-privatisation only if bidders showed solid technical, financial and labour credentials34. In May the union's president, Hélder Santinhos, said he was "very worried" about Lufthansa's approach to labour relations and warned of possible unrest after the sale35. Lufthansa itself has been in a dispute with its German pilot union, Vereinigung Cockpit, over company pensions, which led to strikes in 202636.

On 9 September SPAC set out five questions it said the final bids must answer: what fleet TAP will have and who will drive growth from Lisbon; what flying will stay on TAP's air operator certificate (AOC); what guarantees there will be on jobs and careers; what the future holds for the regional subsidiary Portugália and for maintenance and engineering; and how much decision-making power will stay in Portugal. "It is before the investor is chosen, with two candidates in the race, that intentions have to be turned into verifiable commitments," Santinhos said. The union stressed it does not want to choose the shareholder itself37.

The AOC question matters most for pilots. Flying that stays on TAP's own certificate is, as a rule, flown by TAP's own pilots under their own agreement; flying moved to another operator in a group is not. Commitments to staff and respect for existing collective agreements are one of the government's selection criteria13. According to ECO, both bids guaranteed that jobs would be kept and existing collective agreements respected1. In the reporting on the winning bid that we reviewed, there is nothing specific on seniority, bases or pilot transfers.

The timing also matters. According to ECO, TAP's current company agreement with SPAC, approved by pilots in June 2023, ended the pay cuts imposed during the restructuring and runs until 31 December 2026, after which it renews automatically for twelve-month periods unless it is terminated38. In other words, it reaches its first end date just as a new shareholder arrives. In 2023 the union said TAP had about 1,200 pilots39.

Fleet and hiring

TAP's fleet page lists the Airbus A330-900neo and A330-200, the A321LR, A321neo and A320neo, older A320-family aircraft and, at TAP Express, the Embraer E190 and E19540. The airline had 99 aircraft in operation at the end of 202531. In its winning bid, Lufthansa committed to growing the fleet from 101 aircraft today to 117 by 2035 and to 130 after Lisbon's new airport opens, with up to eight Airbus A350-900s transferred after 2030, according to ECO. TAP stays in Star Alliance, and Lufthansa will seek to bring TAP into its transatlantic partnership with United Airlines. The bid also includes a civil and military aviation school at the Tancos air base, with 200 jobs1.

TAP has kept recruiting during the sale. A recruitment round for first officers closed on 28 September 2026, according to Kiosque da Aviação, asking for at least 500 flight hours, an EASA CPL(A) with ME/IR, ATPL theory, MCC, advanced UPRT and a Class 1 medical, with A320 experience valued41. The number of positions was not stated. You can follow current openings on our pilot jobs page.

What happens next

Choosing a winner does not complete the sale. ECO reported on 14 October that Lufthansa could still be invited to a final round of negotiations, the so-called negociação finalíssima, which the government had provided for in September91. Lufthansa said the same day that it is working with the government and Parpública, the state holding company, to finalise the transaction documents and expects to sign them shortly45. The Council of Ministers must then approve the share purchase agreement and the shareholders' agreement; if the parties agree, the contracts are to be signed by the end of 2026. Approvals are then needed from bodies including Portugal's civil aviation authority ANAC, the Portuguese Competition Authority and the European Commission1. The buyer must sign within 15 days of acceptance, and employees can later buy up to 5% at the same price per share13. The deadline for the sale has been extended to 31 December 202610.

The biggest uncertainty is Brussels. On 8 October Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said the EU review could take 18 to 24 months, pushing completion into 202842. Whether the Commission will ask for remedies, such as slots or routes, is not yet known. Lufthansa's own experience with ITA Airways shows how long such deals can take: it has held 41% of ITA since January 2025 and in May 2026 said it would take a majority, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027 subject to approvals43.

Frequently asked questions

Has Lufthansa won the TAP tender?

Yes. Portugal's Council of Ministers chose Lufthansa on 14 October 2026, but the sale still needs signed contracts and regulatory approval, including from the European Commission1.

How much of TAP is being sold?

Up to 49.9%: up to 44.9% to a reference investor and up to 5% to employees. The state keeps the majority12.

When will the new shareholder take over?

Not before EU approval. Portugal's finance minister expects the review to take 18 to 24 months, with completion in 202842.