The European Commission placed Easyjet’s proposal first in the tender for the delivery of 18 slots at Lisbon airport. The information is advanced this Thursday by DG Comp, which adds that the English low-cost company will be able to start operating the new time slots as of October 30 of this year.

Gone is Ryanair, the only other competitor for the slots that TAP had to give up as a condition for the granting of public aid of up to 3,200 million euros.

The European Commission says that it has evaluated in detail the only two proposals according to the selection and classification criteria defined in December 2021 and that it based its choice on the capacity of seats that the companies proposed to offer in the time slots made available by TAP.

Based on this criterion, the services of the European competition place Easyjet’s proposal in the first place, which will now have as a priority the conclusion of an agreement with TAP to carry out the transfer of slots until October 30 that allows the realization of their new flights. Slots are airport time slots for taking off and landing planes and are very popular with businesses at more congested airports like Lisbon.

Ryanair believes that the Portuguese Government and TAP prefer Easyjet to take over the Lisbon slots

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, publicly defended that the Irish company had the best proposal, but also expressed the conviction that Portugal and TAP would prefer to cede the slots to Easyjet, arguing that this company was less aggressive in competition from the Portuguese aircraft carrier. Ryanair has put a lot of public pressure for access to slots at Lisbon airport, even announcing the reduction in supply for the summer due to the delay in the process of assigning these slots, which can only start to be used in the period wintry.

The contest was coordinated by the European Commission with the advice of a specialized company.

In statements released this Thursday, the vice president of the European Commission with the competition area, Margrethe Vestager, stressed that this decision will strengthen competition in the European aviation sector, since it will allow Easyjet to expand its activities in a congested airport (Lisbon ), contributing to fair prices and a wider range of choices for European consumers. It will also help ensure that the financial support given to TAP to enable a return to economic viability does not have a negative effect on the single market.

Easyjet says it will be the second largest company in Lisbon with new slots

Easyjet was congratulated for winning this competition, the result of which will allow it to become the second largest airline at Lisbon airport. In a statement, the company says the decision will allow it to offer a greater choice of destinations and affordable fares for people traveling to and from the Portuguese capital, as well as create more local employment opportunities.

The general director in Portugal, José Lopes, also affirms that the allocation of slots will allow the company to “continue to grow significantly in one of our most important markets. In the last two years, Portugal has proven to play a crucial role in supporting our strategy; in addition to being one of the favorite destinations of our clients throughout our network. We are also excited to become Lisbon’s number 2 airline, which is a testament to the loyalty of our Portuguese customers over the years.”