Commenting on increasing tensions over the financial state and future of TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) between its two shareholders - the Portuguese state and David Neeleman's Atlantic Gateway consortium - Luís Marques Mendes, a former leader of the opposition liberal-conservative Social Democratic Party, has said that the "marriage" between the parties "cannot last long".

Neeleman's negotiations on the sale of the consortium's stake to a European airline "are well underway, although they have not yet closed," Jornal de Negócios reported Marques Mendes as saying on February 23, the airline in question being Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International).

The German flag carrier is in partnership with fellow Star Alliance partner United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) in this acquisition process, the newspaper said, adding that talks were also being held with Air France-KLM and IAG International Airlines Group. Atlantic Gateway controls 45% of TAP, the Portuguese state owns 50%, and the remaining 5% stake is in the hands of employees. Asked for comment by the news agency AFP, Lufthansa and TAP both declined.

Portugal's infrastructure minister, Pedro Nuno Santos, gave voice to the state's frustrations on the issue on February 21, telling journalists: "It is common sense that, in the face of a scenario in which profit is promised, and the end result is a loss of over EUR100 million euros [USD109 million], they abstain from distributing premiums out of respect for the Portuguese people and for the overwhelming majority of TAP employees who will receive nothing."

The carrier reported a EUR95.6 million (USD104 million) net loss during 2019 on February 20, which follows losses of EUR111 million (USD120 million) posted in November 2019 for the January-to-September period.

It was in the wake of the recent results that reports in the Portuguese financial press surfaced suggesting that Neeleman, the founder of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos), and his private shareholding partner, the Portuguese businessman Humberto Pedrosa, were planning to divest their shareholding in the Portuguese carrier in early 2020.

Marques Mendes said Nuno Santos's comments were "absolutely right". He stressed that now the situation "is much more serious" as "Mr Neeleman recently [said] that the policy of giving premiums would continue".