By Taylor Rains
TAP Air Portugal Expanding Route Network in Europe, Africa
More than one year after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global aviation industry, many airlines are finally on a path to recovery. In particular, Lisbon-based TAP Air Portugal has announced plans to gradually restore its network to pre-pandemic levels. The carrier will increase its flight schedule to nearly 900 flights per week by August, including eight new routes to Europe and Africa.
Since the start of the pandemic, TAP has adjusted its flight operations in response to border closures and travel restrictions around the world. However, since countries have begun opening their borders and relaxing entry requirements, the airline expects travel demand to increase this summer. To prepare for a potential boom, TAP will increase its weekly operations to 879 flights per week by August.
The flights will cover 100 routes, including eight new destinations to Europe and Africa. In Europe, TAP will serve Fuerteventura, Ibiza and Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Zagreb, Croatia. Meanwhile, in Africa, the carrier will operate flights to Djerba and Monastir in Tunisia and both Oujda and Agadir in Morocco.
In total, TAP will operate 555 weekly flights throughout Europe, 83 weekly flights to Africa and51 weekly flights from the United States and Canada to Lisbon. Routes to mainland Africa will include six weekly flights to Luanda, Angola; three weekly to Maputo, Mozambique and three weekly to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. The airline will also serve two African island nations: São Tomé and Príncipe and Cape Verde. These include ten flights to Praia, seven to São Vicente and three to Sal in Cape Verde in addition to four flights to the country of São Tomé and Príncipe.
TAP is also adding more flights throughout Portugal in August, with 126 weekly flights on eight domestic routes.
By August, the Portuguese flag carrier will increase its domestic network to 126 weekly flights across eight routes. These include more frequent service to Portugal’s Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Azores.
In Maderia, the airline plans to operate five daily flights from Lisbon to Funchal and two daily flights from Porto to Funchal. It is also set to restart flights to the island of Porto Santo in June with five weekly flights. To the Azores, TAP will operate a total of 22 weekly flights. This includes 12 from Lisbon and three from Porto to Ponta Delgada and one daily flight from Lisbon to Terceira.
In addition, TAP will serve Porto four times per day and Faro three times per day from Lisbon. Passengers who purchase tickets by May 31 for travel through December 31 can take advantage of free flight changes. According to TAP, this “offers all the airline’s passengers more flexibility, allowing them to book and organize their travels with confidence.”
Taylor Rains graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Aviation Management in 2017. She has worked in the aviation industry for the past five years and has a specialty in safety analytics for part 121 airlines, but she has also worked for a part 135 company in Alaska. Her experience has allowed her to work in many areas of aviation, including airport operations, flight operations, security, inflight, dispatch, and maintenance. Taylor is also an avid traveler and has used her flight benefits to fly on as many airlines and aircraft types as possible. So far, her favorite flight has been aboard KLM’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
