Lisbon, June 12, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's flag carrier, TAP, has officially completed the restructuring plan agreed with the European Commission in 2021, following the sale of its stakes in Cateringpor and SPdH – Serviços Portugueses de Handling, the company announced on Friday.
The completion of the plan included the repayment of €24.99 million to the State, as part of a share capital reduction operation approved on 5 June by TAP’s sole shareholder, the Portuguese State, through the Treasury and Finance Authority, the company said in a statement.
“The amount has already been repaid to the shareholder,” it added.
The repayment of this amount stems from the commitment made by Portugal to Brussels when the deadline for the sale of TAP’s stakes in the former Groundforce (handling) and airline caterer, Cateringpor, was extended to 30 June 2026, whilst maintaining the conditions and considerations associated with the plan.
In February, the European Commission had explained that, to limit the negative effects of the deadline extension on competition, Portugal had committed to proportionally reducing the amount of aid to TAP by €24.99 million, around 1% of the state support approved for the company, as well as extending measures designed to ensure competition until the assets are fully divested.
Following the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reduction in global air traffic, Brussels approved, in December 2021, a restructuring plan for TAP linked to state aid of around €3.2 billion, subject to conditions such as fleet reduction, cost-cutting, operational restructuring and asset disposal.
According to the airline, the divestment processes were finalised on 11 June, enabling it to fulfil the final commitments undertaken under the group’s restructuring plan.
In the case of Cateringpor, TAP completed the sale of 51% of the share capital to the Swiss company Gate Gourmet, which was already a shareholder in the company. The transaction followed the public tender launched at the end of 2025 and the decision announced in April this year.
The company also finalised the sale of its entire stake in SPdH, a ground handling company that operated under the Groundforce brand and is currently owned by Menzies, in accordance with the share purchase agreement signed in May and following verification of the applicable conditions precedent, including the necessary regulatory approvals.
With these transactions, TAP considers the remaining commitments set out in the European Commission’s decision of 21 December 2021 and the extension decision of 23 December 2025 to have been fully met.
TAP’s chief executive, Luís Rodrigues, stated that the completion of the plan marks the moment when the company “accelerates its focus on the future”.
“Until now, we have been working under a restructuring plan drawn up five years ago. That plan is now complete, to everyone’s great satisfaction,” said the chief executive.
Luís Rodrigues added that the company now intends to “continue the transformation process” of the group, “as it should be: much more dynamic, developed, working with its partners, serving the country and contributing to the nation’s economic and social development”.
The completion of the plan comes at a time when the process of the partial privatisation of TAP is underway, relaunched by the government in 2025, which provides for the sale of up to 49.9% of the company’s capital, with the State remaining the majority shareholder.
At this stage of the process, the Air France-KLM and Lufthansa groups remain in the running and are expected to submit final bids for a stake in the carrier by next month.
SCR/AYLS // AYLS
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