Lufthansa wins bid to acquire major stake in Portugal's TAP airline

Portugal's government confirmed that Lufthansa has secured the right to buy a sizable stake in the national airline TAP, surpassing a bid from Air France-KLM. The German carrier already holds a minority position in Italy's Ita and plans to expand its influence across Europe, where it also operates Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and low-cost brands such as Eurowings. Under the agreement, the Portuguese state will keep majority ownership of TAP, which employs around 9,400 staff and operates over 100 aircraft.

Up to five percent of the shares may be allocated to employees, with any remaining portion offered to the chosen investor. The transaction still requires final negotiations, additional approvals and a competition assessment by the EU Commission that could last 18 to 24 months, pushing the expected closing to 2028. Lufthansa also intends to develop a maintenance facility in Santa Maria da Feira, creating roughly 700 jobs.