TAP Air Portugal reduces first half loss

TAP Air Portugal saw its H1 net loss narrow to E493m ($584m) from E582m in the same period last year following a “ramp-up” in activity during the three months to 30 June. However, the Portuguese flag carrier’s operating income for the first six months of 2021 declined by almost 41% year on year to E383m after being “strongly affected” by Covid-19-related travel restrictions in Q1. Passenger numbers in the first half were 56% lower than in the same period of 2020. Capacity, as measured in ASKs, was reduced 41% but RPK traffic fell 60%, causing the airline’s load factor to reduce by 22.8 percentage points to 48.9%. TAP made a Q2 net loss of E128m, compared with one of E187m in the corresponding period last year. The carrier had E542.8m of cash and cash equivalents at 30 June. The airline says it is “expecting the approval” by the EC of its restructuring plan. The Commission last month reapproved rescue aid of E1.2b for TAP, but simultaneously opened an investigation to assess whether the restructuring aid that Portugal plans to grant to the airline is in line with EU state-aid rules.<br/>