LISBON: The resignation by Manuel Santos Cardoso comes after a controversial 10-day strike called by the union at state airline TAP at the beginning of May saw the company lose tens of millions of euros as a result of flight cancellations.
The strike was called in part to enforce an agreement dating back more than a decade under which TAP pilots would be able to buy a certain proportion of shares in the company, which is to be privatised in the next few weeks. The government maintains the original agreement was illegal. Groups representing other TAP employees and customers expressed outrage at the strike, which they saw as undermining the company’s viability at a time when some are campaigning for it to remain in state hands.
The resignation was preceded by news that the impact of the 10-day strike by TAP pilots on Portuguese hotels was not as severe as originally feared, with “just a five percent drop” in bookings, the Hotel Association of Portugal (AHP) said. In related developments at the national flag carrier, the two remaining bidders have shown openness to improving some of the technical and financial aspects of their privatisation bids for TAP, State Secretary Sérgio Monteiro told journalists this week.
In turn, the proposal by David Neeleman, head of the Brazilian airline Azul, in partnership with Humberto Pedrosa, owner of the Barraqueiro transport group, includes 53 new planes and investment amounting to €350 million.
