TAP said in a statement that Spain was a market of "great importance" and was the company's "fifth biggest," with Spanish routes representing 12.1% of the company's total traffic carried.

Currently, the airline operates 11 routes and 201 weekly flights between Portugal and Spain (with departures from Lisbon to Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Gran Canaria, Madrid, Malaga, Seville, Valencia and from Porto to Barcelona and Madrid.

TAP has plans to continue to grow in the Spanish market in 2019 with a new daily route announced between Lisbon and Tenerife, from 15 June.

The company has also announced new routes departing from Lisbon to Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Telavive, Dublin, Naples and Basel, and from Porto to Munich, Brussels and Lyon.