A TAP Air Portugal aircraft takes off from Dublin Airport, in Dublin, Ireland, March 26, 2021. REUTERS
April 2 (Reuters) – Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM said on Thursday it had submitted a non-binding offer to buy a minority stake in TAP Air Portugal, as the Portuguese government moves forward with plans to privatise its flag carrier.
Air France-KLM is the first among three European airline groups to officially bid for a stake in TAP as Lisbon looks to offload as much as 49.9% of the company’s shares.
British Airways-owner IAG and Germany’s Lufthansa have also shown interest in participating in the airline’s privatisation.
“Our ambition is to strengthen the operations at Lisbon while developing connectivity in other cities across the country including Porto. We look forward to the next steps of the privatization process,” Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said in a statement.
Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Louise Heavens and Milla Nissi-Prussak
