TAP Portugal’s Porto investment comes ahead of potential competition scrutiny
With an imminent partial privatization, is TAP Air Portugal diversifying its route network to avoid losing market share in Portugal?
TAP Air Portugal has announced and teased a handful of new routes and an investment in new maintenance facilities at Porto Airport (OPO), Portugal’s second biggest mainland gateway. The Portuguese carrier is expanding its presence at OPO ahead of the next phase of its partial privatization, which could draw regulatory scrutiny, including from the European Commission (EC).
On January 14, TAP Air Portugal unveiled “a set of strategic measures” that would strengthen its operations at OPO, affirming that during this winter season, it has scheduled 135 weekly flights from the airport, including on four intercontinental routes.
This includes flights to Angola International Airport (NBJ), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Rio de Janeiro Galeão International Airport (GIG), and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).
Expanding at OPO
From July 2, it will begin thrice-weekly flights from OPO to Praia International Airport (RAI), one of the airports serving Cabo Verde, while during the next winter season, the OPO to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) route will become a year-round service, TAP Air Portugal said.
OPO-BOS flights began on May 14, 2025, running until October 25, 2025.
“In its strategic plan for the next three years, TAP also plans to launch other new intercontinental routes, which will be announced in due course, and to increase frequencies on several existing routes.”
The statement also pointed out that it will build a new maintenance hub at OPO, with the hub, scheduled to open in 2028, having the capacity to welcome up to two Airbus A321 aircraft, or jets that are similar in size.
Limited slots at LIS
At the same time, TAP Air Portugal is expanding at an airport that seemingly still has some slot availability.
According to data from Navegação Aérea de Portugal (NAV Portugal), it had allocated 84,132 slots to airlines during the upcoming summer 2026 season at OPO. While there was a waitlist for 29,304 slots at OPO, the total allocated slot number improved from the 79,501 slots NAV Portugal had allocated during the summer 2025 season.
Meanwhile, slots at Lisbon Airport (LIS), Portugal’s main gateway, have been limited. Surrounded by residential neighborhoods, the single-runway airport has become one of the most slot-constrained airports in Europe.
NAV Portugal indicated that in summer 2025, it allocated 146,579 slots to airlines at LIS. In summer 2026, the number of allocated slots has increased by just 103. The slot waitlist includes 38,061 requested movements from/to LIS.
In summer 2026, TAP Air Portugal holds 48% of the allocated slots at LIS, and only 11% at OPO. No other airline holds more than 10% of the slots at LIS, with easyJet and Ryanair coming in close at 8% and 9%, respectively.
At OPO, easyJet and Ryanair were given 12% and 30% of the total allocated slots in summer 2026, respectively, meaning both low-cost carriers have more slots at the airport than TAP Air Portugal.
Upcoming privatization
Diversifying and building up its route network at airports other than LIS might be part of the airline’s three-year “strategic plan,” as well as a decision to protect its market share in Portugal in the face of a potential upcoming probe by the EC.
With three major airline groups, Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group (IAG), and Lufthansa Group, confirming interest in acquiring a minority shareholding in the Portuguese carrier, the EC could mandate concessions from the acquirer as well as TAP Air Portugal itself.
When the EC approved Lufthansa Group’s purchase of 41% of ITA Airways, it outlined that it had concerns about reduced competition on specific short-haul routes from Italy to Central Europe, long-haul routes between Italy and North America, and the Italian carrier’s strengthened position at Milan Linate Airport (LIN).
As such, the proposed remedies were to enable a competing airline to launch services on the short-haul routes, for Lufthansa Group and ITA Airways to “enter into agreements with rivals to improve their competitiveness on the long-haul routes of concern,” and for ITA Airways to give up slots at LIN.
Given TAP Air Portugal’s slot portfolio at LIS, it would not be surprising that a potential acquisition could result in the EC mandating slot transfers at the airport.
Portugal is currently progressing with its plan to build a new airport to serve the capital. In October 2025, the Portuguese government detailed that the deadline for ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, the operator of 10 Portuguese airports, including LIS, to submit its final plans for the new airport is January 2028.
In the meantime, in August 2025, ANA delivered a report on the expansion of LIS, which includes a plan to enable 45 movements per hour at the airport. The current summer 2026 season hourly peak is 40.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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