Lufthansa has won TAP Air Portugal. After a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Lisbon on Wednesday, 14 October, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced that the government had chosen the German group over Air France-KLM to buy 49.9% of the Portuguese flag carrier.

The offer is worth €1.201 billion and implies a value of €2.407 billion for the whole airline, according to Portuguese business daily ECO. It ends a contest that Afterburner covered in July, when the two groups lodged binding offers. The deal is not done yet: contracts still have to be signed, and Brussels has to approve it.

What Lufthansa Is Paying

ECO broke the €1.201 billion down. Lufthansa offered €1.025 billion for 44.9% of TAP, plus €118 million for the 5% that will be offered to TAP employees at the same price; any shares the staff do not take up will be bought by Lufthansa. Another €58 million covers the catering company Cateringpor and the ground-handling firm SPdH, and there is an adjustment mechanism linked to TAP's results.

The Air France-KLM bid totalled €1.038 billion, 13.6% less, with a possible €100 million more if TAP hit profit and debt targets by 2028. ECO reports that uncertainty over that extra payment weighed on the government's decision.

More Aircraft, a Flight School and A350s

Lufthansa also won on investment. It has promised to grow TAP's fleet from 101 aircraft to 117 by 2035, and to 130 once Lisbon's new airport opens, in a plan ECO says could reach €4 billion. That includes the transfer of up to eight Airbus A350-900s after 2030. Lufthansa already flies the type on long-haul routes from Munich.

The most unusual promise is aviation training. Lufthansa has committed to creating a military and civil flight school at the Tancos base, with 200 jobs and hundreds of millions of euros for new infrastructure, according to ECO. Both bidders guaranteed existing jobs and collective agreements.

Lufthansa also made an offer for a second phase: €863 million for the remaining 50.1% of TAP, plus a 5% stake in the Lufthansa Group worth €488 million. Lisbon has not decided whether to sell the rest.

TAP Joins SWISS, Austrian and ITA

TAP will become the sixth network airline in the group, alongside Lufthansa itself, SWISS, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and ITA Airways, where Lufthansa holds 41% and has a deal to reach 90%. TAP stays in the Star Alliance, and Lufthansa plans to ask for it to join the transatlantic joint venture with United Airlines.

The prize is South America. TAP carried 16.7 million passengers last year and leads European flying to Brazil; the Lufthansa Group carried 135 million. ECO reports that the deal lifts Lufthansa's share of the Latin American market from 9% to 20%.

Portuguese news coverage of the TAP decision. Video: NOW Canal

Que se passe-t-il ensuite ?

Lufthansa may now be invited to a final round of negotiation. After that, Portugal's Council of Ministers has to approve the contracts, including the share purchase and the shareholders' agreement, with signing planned by the end of the year. Then come approvals from Portugal's aviation and competition regulators and, above all, from the European Commission.

He expects the deal to close in 2028. Only then will Lufthansa actually own its stake and TAP employees get the chance to buy their 5%.

Sources: ECO ("Lufthansa paga 1.201 milhões e vence privatização da TAP", 14 October 2026); RTP (14 October 2026); Renascença/SIC Notícias (14 October 2026).