Two of the Algarve’s most important representatives have blasted the flight plans of Portugal’s flagship airline TAP for the next two months, lamenting that it will start operating just two daily flights between Lisbon and Faro in July.
“Before the pandemic, the national flagship airline operated only three daily flights from Lisbon to Faro,” tourism board president João Fernandes and municipalities’ association (AMAL) president António Pina say in a joint statement.
“When the pandemic broke out in Europe, TAP was quick to suppress the already small number of air links to Faro International Airport, and now, according to its plan, the resumption of flights to the Algarve will be very slow, with just two daily flights in July.”
They say TAP’s plans “do not serve” the Algarve’s interests and are in sharp contrast to other international airlines, which have announced “more robust” resumptions of flights in the region. They cite Edelweiss, Luxair Tours and Transavia Netherlands, which will be resuming flights from Zurich (Thursday, May 28), Luxembourg (May 31) and Amsterdam (June 4), respectively.
“Fortunately, the Algarve has stood out due to the interest it generates among foreign airlines and tour companies such as Lufthansa, which will be resuming flights to 20 worldwide destinations in mid-June, including Faro,” they say.
Fernandes and Pina lament that “the airline that is supposedly a national flagship carrier continues to disregard the Algarve in its plans despite it being the biggest holiday destination in the country”.
