Air France-KLM CEO expresses interest in Portuguese airline TAP

The CEO of Air France-KLM said the airline holding company might be interested in taking a stake in Portuguese national airline TAP, according to Bloomberg. Lisbon is looking to sell over 50 percent of TAP's shares this year after it was forced to bail out the airline during the coronavirus pandemic.

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said the airline combination would "definitely engage on a formal basis" if TAP's shares became available. He also expressed interest in “partnership or ownership," during an interview with Bloomberg Television.

"If the right circumstances are in place, we’re interested,” Smith said in the interview. “Consolidation is key for us, especially in Europe. The Iberian peninsula we’ve studied for many years.”

The French-Dutch airline combination was previously identified as one of the main contenders for TAP, alongside German airline Lufthansa. TAP lost 1.6 billion euros in 2021 and received 2.55 billion euros in government aid, according to Bloomberg. As a result, Portugal's infrastructure minister announced in October the national airline needed to consolidate with a "large aviation group."

TAP, which stands for Transportes Aereos Portugueses, is Europe's largest provider of flights to Brazil, according to Bloomberg.