Under the ruling, all flights scheduled to and from the Azores archipelago and three flights from Lisbon to Funchal on each strike day, as well as three flights per day from Funchal to Lisbon must be assured.


One flight to and one flight from Angola, three to and three from Mozambique, two to and two from Brazil, and one to and from each of France, Luxembourg, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Italy must also be assured - largely because of the significant Portuguese communities in all these countries.


According to the tribunal, the ruling took into account circumstances including the relatively long period covered by the strike, the fact that at the start of May there is an uptick in demand for air transport, and the fact that large crowds of would-be passengers gathering in airport could raise security issues.


TAP and Portugália pilots called the strike because, they say, the government is not keeping to a deal reached in December regarding payments for seniority, and another from 1999 that gave pilots the right to shares as part of any privatisation of the company - a move that is currently planned.