On Sunday, TAP cancelled two morning flights from Lisbon to Barcelona, citing “operational reasons” for the eleventh hour cancellation.
Passengers, some of whom were stranded in Barcelona and forced to rebook return flights with other airlines, have criticised TAP for a lack of information regarding the situation.
More recently, on Tuesday the airline cancelled two of its daily flights from Funchal, Madeira, to the mainland, which led to the island’s regional vice-president accusing TAP of “abandoning passengers” and deeming the situation “regrettable”.
Pedro Calado told journalists it seems TAP is “cancelling flights last minute, without warning passengers, who are practically abandoned in airports (…)”
Tuesday morning’s flights from Madeira – one to Porto and one to Lisbon – were cancelled after the aircraft failed to make the outbound leg the night before, which TAP, again, said was due to “operational reasons”.
The planes were meant to overnight on the island before flying back the next day, but never departed.
Passengers also bemoan a “lack of support” from the airline in the wake of the cancellations, with some claiming that, with the exception of airport food vouchers, they are left to fend for themselves.
Others alleged they understood the ‘operational reasons’ causing the cancellations was due to a “shortage of cabin crew”.
This weekend it emerged complaints within the national tourism sector have risen by 78 percent, the vast majority because of cancelled and delayed flights.