"This appeal goes out not only towards knowing quickly what the [TAP's restructuring] plan is, but above all that this [restructuring] plan reflects the importance that these [Brazilian and American] markets have for the region", said Luís Pedro Martins, in an interview with Lusa.

The appeal of the president of Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal (TPNP) for TAP airline to proceed swiftly with information on the restructuring plan and on the routes it will offer, is explained by the fact that the Brazilian markets and American are "two very important markets for tourism in Porto and the North of Portugal".

"The Brazilian market is the third source market in the Porto and North region and is the fifth [output] market for the country", he highlighted, recalling that because of the pandemic the region only reopened "very recently to the American and Brazilian markets".

For Luís Pedro Martins, it is essential to know TAP's plans so that TPNP, together with the North Regional Development Coordination Commission (CCDR-N) and Turismo de Portugal, can jointly outline strategies for the future of tourism in the region.

“We still don’t know what TAP is going to do. It is important to know what TAP is going to do so that we can align or design other strategies, namely with other [airline] companies. And, for that, we also have to count on the CCDR-N and Turismo de Portugal entities”, he said.

Luís Pedro Martins underlined that one of the priority projects for the region is “air connectivity”, something that is a critical success factor for the region.

“If we are not able to resolve it, it is very worrying for the region,” he said.

TAP intends to operationalise the restructuring plan in October, according to the executive president (CEO) of the airline, Christine Ourmières-Widener.

In the first half of this year, TAP SA reduced its losses to 493.1 million euros, a recovery of 15.3%, or 88 million euros, compared to the negative results of 582 million euros in the same period of the previous year.

Since December 31, 2020, a total of 1,302 employees have left the company, which represents a reduction of 16% in the workforce, and the negotiation of agreements with unions through which salary revisions were defined”.