At Tap Air Portugal, both CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener and Chairman of the Board Manuel Beja accepted the dismissal. The background is that a former manager received a severance payment of half a million euros before moving to a government position.

The matter made waves in Portugal and also led to several resignations, including the affected State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. For several weeks, the unions have been demanding that company boss Christine Ourmières-Widener resign because she is accused of working together with the chairman of the board of directors the severance payment is said to have waved through.

Currently, Tap Air Portugal is majority owned by the government. Politically, the stake in the airline is subordinate to the Treasury. Finance Minister Fernando Medina pulled the ripcord on Thursday evening and announced that both managers had parted ways. "It was necessary to restore the relationship of trust between Tap and the country and the Portuguese," said the government member.

The Ministry of Finance examined the €500.000 settlement and concluded that it was not justified. Alexandra Reis, who was the head of Tap for a short time and then continued to work for the company as a manager for some time, had received this position before she switched to politics, despite her resignation. She held the position of Secretary of State at the Treasury for a few months before resigning under public pressure.

A new CEO for Tap Air Portugal has also been found. Luís Rodrigues, previously Managing Director of Sata, will take on the role of both CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. This is the second change from the Azores airline to the Tap Group, because since March 1, 2023 the regional subsidiary Portugalia has been under the management of Mário Chaves, who also previously worked for Sata.