Starting with January 27, 2019, TAP Air Portugal suspends the flights on the route Bucharest - Lisbon.
The Portuguese carrier invokes commercial reasons, noting that the profitability of this route does not justify the continuation of the flights.
All passengers with tickets purchased for flights after January 27 will be contacted on TAP Air Portugal for rerouting on partner flights or for refunds.
Customers with air tickets already purchased will be protected / re-routed on the flights of other airlines and will be informed about the new routes. Or they will be able to request the reimbursement of the amounts paid, if they wish to cancel the tickets. Romanian passengers will be able to contact the Call Center in Lisbon at the telephone number: +351 21 843 11 00
From our information, the TAP Air Portugal planes were always full, and the reason invoked would not be 100% plausible.
Moreover, the decision comes suddenly in the middle of the winter season 2018-2019. There may be other decision makers in the middle, which led to the cancellation of direct flights between Bucharest and Lisbon.
Bucharest - Lisbon with Blue Air
After the withdrawal of TAP Air Portugal from the route Bucharest - Lisbon, Blue Air will be the only air operator with direct flights between Romania and Portugal.
Currently, Blue Air operates 2 weekly flights on the route Bucharest - Lisbon, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. And from the summer season 2019, the number of flights will increase to 3 per week, being introduced on Thursday's rotation.
Another important player on the Romanian market, Wizz Air, will resume flights on the route Bucharest - Lisbon starting with April 2. Flights are loaded into the system and airline tickets can be booked.