Germany's Lufthansa on Thursday expressed an interest for a stake in TAP Air Portugal, joining Air France-KLM in the race for part of the carrier which is set to be privatised.

TAP, nationalised during the Covid pandemic, is among a handful of state-owned carriers remaining in Europe, and is of interest to bigger players due to its routes to Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa.

Lufthansa, which already owns a host of carriers and is Europe's biggest airline group by revenue, said it had submitted a bid to the state holding company that owns TAP.

"Our goal is to strengthen Portugal's global connectivity, preserve TAP's Portuguese identity, and ensure the airline's sustainable growth," said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in a statement.

"TAP Air Portugal is of great strategic importance t

See Full Page