Lisbon, Dec. 16, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's national flag carrier, TAP, on Monday announced plans to resume flights to Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, in April 2025, having suspended the route since May due to the severe flooding in the state that had affected the local airport.

In a statement, TAP Air Portugal said that flights between Lisbon and Porto Alegre will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing from the Portuguese capital at 1.05 p.m. and arriving in Porto Alegre at 8.25 p.m. local time.

With a total duration of 11 hours and 20 minutes, this is one of the longest flights in TAP's network of destinations. 

In the opposite direction, the TAP flight departs from Porto Alegre's Salgado Filho International Airport at 9.55 p.m., arriving at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport at 12.45 p.m. local time. 

Porto Alegre's airport was closed on 3 May due to the state of calamity declared by the authorities following the rains that caused major flooding in large parts of Rio Grande do Sul, and which also affected the airport infrastructure. 

TAP flights to and from the city have been suspended since then, but has is now to resume operations.

With the resumption of direct flights between Brazil's southernmost state capital and Europe, TAP emphasises,it is fulfilling "the commitment it made when it was forced to suspend this connection."

TAP presents itself as "the airline that flies the most between Europe and Brazil" - with almost 100 flights a week serving 13 Brazilian state capitals.

The airline flies directly between Lisbon and São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Natal, Maceió, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Florianópolis and Manaus, as well as connecting Porto with São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

In total, there are 13 cities in Brazil (on 15 routes to and from Lisbon and Porto) that TAP connects directly to Portugal.

PD/ARO // ARO.

Lusa