The chief executive of the International Airlines Group (IAG), Luis Gallego, today expressed the holding company’s interest in the conditions of the privatization of TAP, considering that “it would be something interesting” for the group.
“We are always open to having big companies, big brands in our portfolio and, to be honest, we want to see the conditions of the privatization of TAP, because I think it would be something interesting for us,” said Gallego during a speech at the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon.
The statements by the CEO of the group that owns Ireland’s Aer Lingus, Britain’s British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, Level and Vueling come on the eve of the approval of the decree-law for the reprivatization of the airline, which will detail the conditions of the operation.
The former Iberia CEO, who has been CEO of IAG since 2021, pointed out that the group was launched in 2011 “as a consolidation platform”.
Today, he pointed out, IAG is a holding company and “not an airline”.
Last week in parliament, Prime Minister António Costa raised the possibility, among different scenarios, of privatizing all of TAP’s capital, although he indicated that the amount had not yet been defined and would depend on the partner chosen.
In his opening speech in the debate, António Costa announced that the government will approve the law that will establish the framework for TAP’s privatization process at Thursday’s Council of Ministers.
