The European Commission gave the green light on Friday 23 April to a €462 million Portuguese support for Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, S.A. (‘TAP’) to compensate for the damage suffered by the airline as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic between 19 March and 30 June 2020.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for competition policy, said she was examining “the restructuring plan for the company submitted by Portugal” separately.
TAP is the largest airline based in Portugal.
The Portuguese support will take the form of a €462 million loan that can be converted into capital and paid to TAP in one or more tranches.
In order to ensure that there will be no overcompensation, the measure provides that, by September 2021 at the latest, Portugal shall review and communicate to the Commission the amount of damages actually suffered, following an independent verification based on the company’s audited accounts.
Any public support received by TAP in excess of the damage actually suffered must be returned to Portugal.
In particular, the Commission considered that the Portuguese measure will compensate for damage directly linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. It also found that the measure was proportionate, as the compensation did not go beyond the amount necessary to rectify the damage. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)