“Portugal cannot afford to lose at TAP”, says Pedro Nuno Santos
The minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, reacted this Tuesday to the decision of the European Union to give the green light to the government’s proposal for information technology. In the communication, the official began by praising the importance that TAP has for the national economy, considering that it is “one of the biggest Portuguese companies” and “one of the biggest national exporters”.
“We are in the presence of a company that is a strong net exporter, which is vitally important for an economy that systematically has an unbalanced trade balance. It’s really a decisive issue for a country that has losses with large companies such as Cimpor and PT and cannot afford to lose a company that has such an economic impact”, says Pedro Nuno Santos
In addition, the minister also highlighted that, in the event of TAP’s bankruptcy, an airline operation could not be replaced. Pedro Nuno Santos raises that TAP brings passengers from countries like Brazil, Africa and the United States to Lisbon – where it is headquartered – and then distributes them throughout Europe.
“Seeing TAP close, what will happen is that we no longer have a hub at Lisbon airport. The overwhelming majority of flights that come from Brazil, Africa and the USA and that stop, at this moment, in Portugal, would stop in Madrid, Berlin or Paris. The idea that TAP’s business could be replaced by some of the low costs that are systematically mentioned is wrong, “he said.
Pedro Nuno Santos reiterates that the interest of other companies in TAP’s business is linked only to the transport of passengers between European countries, leaving them behind as intercontinental connections.
“When we talk about TAP, we are talking about much more than an aviation company. We are talking about a company that has tremendous importance for exports and for a Portuguese trade balance, which is very important for many Portuguese companies and which has tremendous importance for a business model that gives centrality in Portugal. Portuguese geography is a problem in many disciplines, but in the aviation business it is an opportunity that only TAP allows us to take advantage of”, he said in conclusion.