In a taste of things to come, claims of ‘against the public interest’ already are being levelled at TAP's new managers Gateway as it plans to end long-haul flights to and from Oporto’s airport.
The mayor of Oporto, Rui Moreira, said this evening, "From what I know, the shareholders of TAP want the long-haul flights to stop using Francisco Sá Carneiro airport. For long-haul TAP flights, passengers will have to go down to Lisbon on the old Embraer fleet run by Portugalia.”
As airport management plans celebrations for Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport's 70th birthday on Thursday, Rui Moreira stated, "I give you a serious warning: the population of northern Portugal will not forget this and probably will choose another airport. Madrid is the same distance from Lisbon. In air time it’s pretty much the same.
"If TAP wishes to abandon the city of Oporto, then we can also abandon TAP," said the mayor.
The mayor said he was not certain the final decision had been made but that the source of the information was from deep within TAP.
The airline spokesman, António Monteiro, said he was "unaware of any plan to end the long-haul flights from Oporto airport."
The new Socialist administration criticised the probable decision and is to question the former coalition government as to whether the end of long-haul flights at Oporto airport had been "on the negotiating table" when TAP was sold off.
"The possibility is being studied by the company. It is essential to question the previous PSD/CDS government about whether this move was on the negotiating table during the privatisation talks, since this measure undermines the public interest," said the Socialist MP João Paulo Correia, who also is responsible for Transport, referring to the statements made today by the mayor of Oporto.
The Secretary of State for Communities said the decision would hurt Oporto, "Confirmation of this information, and I hope that it is not confirmed, would constitute serious damage to the national strategic interest," said José Luís Carneiro.
Carneiro, who also is the leader of the Oporto Socialist Party, said that if it is confirmed, the intentions of the TAP would "put into question the legitimate interests of multiple Portuguese communities throughout the world."
