Portugal expects to send TAP restructuring plan to Brussels in November

A restructuring plan for TAP will be sent to the European Commission in November, the secretary of state for the treasury said Tuesday, which if approved will buy the airline time to repay a huge bailout loan. TAP asked for state aid in April after the outbreak of the coronavirus forced it to suspend almost all of its 2,500 weekly flights. The EC approved a E1.2b rescue loan in June, contingent on the airline drawing up a restructuring plan within six months, or by the middle of December. If Brussels accepts the plan, TAP will have several years to repay the debt, otherwise it must be repaid immediately. In its 2021 draft budget, Portugal included a state guarantee for a new loan of E500m to be granted to the company this year. “The restructuring plan is being drawn up, the expectation is that it...could be presented (to Brussels) during November,” Secretary of State for the Treasury Miguel Cruz said. “Projections have been revised to significantly lower values, as with all airlines in the world,” Cruz said, blaming the high uncertainty caused by the pandemic with some forecasts not expecting the travel sector to recover until 2024-25. The Portuguese government signed an agreement at the beginning of July to purchase shares from TAP’s private shareholders, increasing its stake to 72.5% from 50% but avoiding a full nationalisation.<br/>