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TAP Air Portugal has announced plans to build a new base maintenance facility in Porto by 2028, coinciding with plans to expand the volume of international flights from the city’s airport.
The airline will establish a two-bay facility at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport with capacity for two Airbus A321 aircraft or similar, operated by its maintenance unit, TAP Maintenance & Engineering (TAP M&E). TAP M&E will use the hangar for maintenance on TAP Air Portugal’s all-Airbus aircraft fleet as well as third-party operator business.
According to the carrier, construction of the maintenance hub in northern Portugal “represents a decisive step in TAP’s growth strategy in the region, allowing it to internalize major fleet inspections, reduce operating costs and create around 200 highly specialized jobs.” The airline did not disclose how many Euros would be invested in the project.
The company already has an existing MRO presence in Porto in the form of a line station, but once completed, the new hangar will add further base maintenance capacity outside of its Lisbon headquarters.
TAP’s other Portuguese line stations are in Faro and Funchal on the island of Madeira. Overseas locations include Luanda Angola, Maputo, Mozambique and in Brazil in: Belem, Belo Horizonte, Brazilia, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.
In its strategic plan for the next three years, TAP—currently undergoing a privatization process from state ownership—also plans to launch other new intercontinental routes, which the airline said will be announced shortly, while also increasing frequencies on several existing routes.
The expansion of TAP’s maintenance footprint in Porto follows on from Lufthansa Technik committing to the region at the end of 2024. The German MRO giant plans to commence construction in 2026 on a new component repair facility focusing on individual aircraft and engine parts in Santa Maria da Feira, located around 20 mi. south of Porto at the end of 2027.
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