For the people of Madeira and Porto Santo, air travel is far more than a convenience. It is a vital link to the mainland, connecting families, enabling access to services and ensuring that island residents can travel within their own country.
That lifeline is at the centre of concerns raised by two parliamentarians following the announcement that Lufthansa has been selected as the partner for TAP’s partial privatisation.
PS-Madeira MP Emanuel Câmara wants Infrastructure and Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz to explain how the interests of residents of both islands are protected during the negotiations.
Câmara will submit a formal request for clarification, stressing that the region’s island geography makes air transport essential to territorial continuity.
“This is a subject that the Government cannot avoid. The Portuguese who live on the islands need answers,” he said.
The Socialist MP criticised the minister for failing to respond when questioned by the media about Madeira, the Azores and Portuguese communities abroad. He described this as further evidence of the national government’s disregard for island residents, pointing to continuing difficulties with the Territorial Continuity Mechanism, formerly the Social Mobility Subsidy.
Independent Madeira parliamentarian Miguel Castro has also called for explicit safeguards, arguing that the sale must protect connections to the autonomous regions and Portuguese emigrant communities while preventing unjustified fare increases.
He wants the Regional Government to demand firm guarantees from Lisbon that TAP will continue to fulfil its public service role for Madeira, Porto Santo and the Azores.
Castro also highlighted the importance of maintaining routes to countries with substantial Portuguese and Madeiran communities, including Venezuela, South Africa, the United States, Canada and Brazil. For families spread across continents, these connections help preserve ties that distance can otherwise weaken.
He further defended retaining the Portuguese flag as a central part of the airline’s identity and supporting the recruitment of Portuguese crew members, in accordance with applicable legislation.
“TAP can change shareholders, but it cannot lose its Portuguese identity, nor abandon the historical responsibility it has towards the Autonomous Regions and the Portuguese around the world,” he said.
Regional Government President Miguel Albuquerque, however, has assured residents that air connections between Madeira and the mainland are fully safeguarded under the privatisation process.
Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation of an American investment in Funchal, Albuquerque reiterated Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s assurance that connectivity with Madeira and the Azores was one of the government’s central requirements.
Lufthansa’s proposal is worth €1.201 billion for a 44.9% stake in TAP, with the transaction expected to be completed by early 2028. 50.1% retained by the Portuguese State; 5% of TAP shares reserved for TAP employees.
For island residents, the central question remains how those assurances will translate into reliable connections and affordable journeys.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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