This Tuesday the PCP accused the airline Ryanair of taking advantage of the pandemic crisis to try to “get new advantages and profits” and attack TAP and “national sovereignty” by “demanding the seizure of the ‘khans’ at Lisbon airport.”
“This new attack on TAP and national sovereignty, by claiming to seize ‘positions’, positions held by TAP at Lisbon Airport, is another example of what the practice of multinational corporations is – taking advantage of the pandemic crisis to try to obtain new advantages and profits,” he stressed Vice President of the Communist Party Bruno Dias.
In a video statement sent to the newsrooms, the deputy considered that “the statements of the head of Ryanair” constitute “another provocation and media guerrilla action that deserves disavowal and indignation, not the submission that we are witnessing.”
Bruno Dias stressed that the country cannot be subordinated to the economic power of someone “who has been repeatedly convicted in the courts of systematic violations of Portuguese law, repression and exploitation, while that same multinational has been receiving millions of dollars in subsidies over the years.”
“Our solidarity is with Ryanair workers and with all those working in the aviation sector and the country’s demand is to end this privilege and impunity for those who believe they are above the law,” he said.
The Portuguese Communist Party deputy also stressed that the program is “essential in the country and needs to resume strategic functions in links with the autonomous regions and Portuguese communities, among other crucial tasks”. “The solution for national civil aviation is not to break up the main airline or attack jobs and rights,” Bruno Dias said.
The head of airline Ryanair on Tuesday accused TAP of blocking “openings” at Lisbon airport, preventing the growth of other airlines, and announced the launch of 26 new routes from Portugal for the winter.
At a press conference, the company’s president, Michael Kevin O’Leary, said Ryanair is betting on Portugal while TAP is “cutting jobs, cutting roads” and said more could be done if TAP didn’t block “periods of time”. hours at the airport for an airline to land and planes to take off), to demand government intervention.
Ryanair has announced new routes from Lisbon, Porto and Faro and that three more aircraft will be stationed at Lisbon Airport, moving to a total of seven aircraft in Lisbon, with a total investment of $300 million (about €256 million at the current exchange rate). . The company also said it would create 300 new jobs (among pilots, cabin crew and engineers), in response to Michael O’Leary telling reporters that they would be “well-paying jobs”.
The official also stated, on several occasions, that Ryanair’s investment in Portugal is being made without any state assistance, while TAP will receive 3,000 million euros.
Michael O’Leary was already asked about the money Rynair receives from public entities, and he did not answer accurately or provide exact figures. He stated that he does not receive any aid from the state, and that the money he receives comes from tourist entities, but it is “very small” amounts.
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