TAP will operate just five flights a week between Wednesday, April 1 and May 4, between Lisbon, Madeira and the Azores, according to information released by the company in its’ site’.

According to the official source of the carrier, “all flights are subject to authorizations”, and if they are not granted they may even be canceled.

Thus, as of this Wednesday, the flag carrier will only operate two flights a week between Lisbon and Funchal, an equal number of connections between the capital and Ponta Delgada and a weekly flight from Lisbon to Terceira.

The Civil Aviation Pilots Union (SPAC) informed its associates on Monday that TAP, “due to the cancellation of all its flights for the month of April, intends to lay out its pilots “.

In a statement to which Lusa had access, after meeting with the carrier’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, the SPAC management tells members that “TAP has informed that, due to the cancellation of all its flights for the month of April, it intends to put its pilots in a lay-off regime, without implementing the measures, which are still under analysis “.

“TAP was able to do so very quickly,” he says in the same statement.

According to other union sources, who also met with the Board of Directors, led by Miguel Frasquilho, and with the Executive Committee, headed by Antonoaldo Neves, TAP has committed itself to inform workers of the measures to be taken in the face of the impact of covid-19 over the next two days.

The intention is for the cost reduction measures to take effect in April, union sources told Lusa.

In communicating to its members, the Union of Maintenance and Aircraft Technicians (Sitema) needed that Antonoaldo Neves announced “the suspension of all TAP flights as of April 1 (even Azores and Madeira is subject to authorizations)”, staying ” only the execution of flights for specific missions is open “.

“David Pedrosa [TAP administrator] stated that the definition of the model to be adopted by TAP is currently being studied, this model is being negotiated between TAP and the Government and should be concluded within 48 hours”, he details the System in the document to which Lusa had access.

Today, the unions representing aviation workers, in a joint statement, announced that the Government believes that TAP “needs a strong recapitalization and that there is a willingness to carry it out”.

The unions were “informed that TAP will be included in the European Union’s aid package for airlines, and that it is also assumed by the Government that TAP SGPS needs a strong recapitalization, and that there is a willingness to do it”, reads in a joint statement from the Union of Workers and Aviation (SITAVA), Union of Metallurgical and Related Industries (SIMA), Union of Staff of Commercial Aviation (SQAC), National Union of Civil Aviation Workers (SINTAC) and Union of Handling Technicians of Airports (STHA).