A plane from the Portuguese company TAP – PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP
Portugal has decided to limit the occupancy of aircraft to two thirds of their capacity in order to respect social distancing between passengers while his national company TAP will resume its first international flights on Thursday.
This limit, which comes into force on Sunday, “guarantees an appropriate distance between passengers and ensures their safety”, specifies the decree published in the official journal.
International flights resume Thursday
However, the decree provides for exceptions, in particular for flights providing for repatriation operations. In this case, the passengers will have to be placed so as to respect a distance between them “according to the capacities of the aircraft and the number of passengers”, specifies the text.
TAP Air Portugal, which since the beginning of April has only provided connections between the Portuguese mainland and the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, resumes its first international flights on Thursday. From May 5 to May 17, it will provide two weekly return flights to Paris and two to London, according to information published on its website.
The company also plans two exceptional flights to Sao Paulo in Brazil on May 7 and 8. The transporter has placed 90% of its approximately 11,000 employees out of work.
Portugal deconfines from this Monday
Portugal, which has lifted the state of emergency since midnight since March 19, has planned a deconfinement plan in stages spread over the whole of May. It will start on Monday with the reopening of small street shops, hair salons or car dealerships. But during this extended weekend, and according to a measure in force until Sunday evening, the Portuguese can leave their municipality of residence only to exercise the trades deemed essential.
Portugal has recorded 1,023 deaths from Covid-19 and a cumulative number of 25,190 cases, according to the latest report published on Saturday.
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