These positions were assumed by António Costa and Olaf Scholz at a press conference in São Bento, after a meeting between the two after being questioned about the possibility of Lufthansa entering the future privatisation process of TAP.

The Portuguese Prime Minister said that the TAP privatisation process will soon begin.

“During the pre-market consultations, we found that several companies had expressed interest, including Lufthansa. We know that Lufthansa's interest is not recent, since before the covid-19 it had been in negotiations with the [then] private shareholder [of TAP] to take a position”, he noted.

António Costa stressed that the Portuguese State “has to ensure a transparent process” in the privatisation process.

“But obviously Lufthansa is very welcome, it's a great airline. It has a highly complementary strategy in relation to the TAP hub. However, everyone is at the same point on the starting line”, he stressed.