Lisbon, Jan. 16, 2026 (Lusa) - The managing director of easyJet Portugal believes that TAP's privatisation should lead to the release of slots at Lisbon airport and says the company is ready to take advantage of this opportunity.
In an interview with Lusa, José Lopes pointed out that TAP is currently the dominant operator in Lisbon, which will force the European Commission to impose countermeasures, as it always does when there are consolidation processes, the so-called remedies.
"In the case of Lisbon airport, it is a market where TAP is dominant, it is the number one player [operator], it has close to half of the available slots [time slots for landing and take-off]," he said.
According to the official, any entry of a new significant shareholder into TAP's capital will, as has already happened in other countries, lead to the imposition of corrective measures by Brussels. These remedies typically involve redistributing slots at the most congested airports, such as Lisbon.
"Therefore, a consolidation with any other player, and the three bidders [interested parties] are publicly identified, will lead to a consolidation of this dominant position," which, "as a rule, will lead, as was recently the case with Lufthansa's purchase of ITA, to remedies," he commented.
At issue is the interest of the three European groups, Air France-KLM, IAG and Lufthansa, in purchasing up to 49.9% of the Portuguese airline, with 5% of the capital reserved for employees.
"There will certainly be more slots to be distributed. EasyJet (...) wants to take advantage of this opportunity that will arise," he added, explaining that the company sees privatisation as a concrete opportunity to grow at an airport where there is currently no available capacity.
He recalled that the airline had already received slots in Lisbon as part of the remedies imposed by the European Commission during the TAP restructuring process, following the state aid granted during the pandemic.
Asked whether easyJet would have any preference for the winner of the TAP privatisation, he said that he is following the process as an "outsider" [spectator], but with a direct interest in its competitive effects.
"We are looking at the purchase project (...) as an opportunity to really grow at an airport that is currently congested," he said.
In 2025, across the country, the airline operated 96 routes to and from Portuguese airports and carried more than 10.5 million passengers, with an average occupancy rate of 92%, one of the highest in its network.
The company provided more than 11.4 million seats in Portugal, consolidating its leadership in Madeira and its second position in the main airports on the mainland — Lisbon, Porto and Faro, as the official pointed out.
When asked whether, in view of this growth, easyJet had been approached to sell its Portuguese operation, José Lopes ruled it out.
"No, neither in Portugal nor anywhere else. There is no such situation in prospect, quite the contrary," he said.
The goal "is to continue to grow," stressed the manager, who has led easyJet in Portugal since 2012.
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