TAP concerned about the imminent operational disruption caused by Groundforce's rejection of the agreement

SPdH (Groundforce) rejected TAP's proposal to ensure the payment of vacation allowances of its employees.

TAP concerned about the imminent operational disruption caused by Groundforce's rejection of the agreement.

TAP SA made itself available to make a new advance payment of funds to SPdH (Groundforce) on account of services rendered or and to be provided so that this company could pay the vacation allowances of its employees.

This proposal was rejected by SPdH (Groundforce), which calls into question the fulfillment of this payment to its employees and may have harmful consequences to the activity of TAP SA.

At issue was the immediate and exceptional provision of funds as an advance payment for services rendered or to be provided by SPdH (Groundforce) to TAP SA, exclusively allocated to the payment of the vacation allowances of the employees of the said company providing groundhandling services.

In the proposal now rejected, SPdH (Groundforce) would have to use the advanced amounts exclusively for the payment of the vacation allowances of its workers, as well as the amounts inherent to IRS and Social Security of their remunerations, which would immediately stabilize the socioeconomic situation of Groundforce’s employees.

TAP SA does not understand the rejection of this proposal and reiterates that it is not a debtor, but rather a creditor of SPdH (Groundforce).

As is publicly known, TAP SA, as being the main customer, has been helping Groundforce's survival in recent months, advancing to that company payments for services rendered or to be provided to TAP, in a total amount of 12.3 million euros until January this year.

Invoices due each month are naturally settled under these advance payments.

Last March, given the serious crisis in which Groundforce found itself, compromising the payment of salaries, and the lack of other solutions to overcome it, it was possible, through the signing of a purchase and sale agreement of equipment, in the amount of circa 7 million Euro, and a lease contract of equipment, that TAP transferred to SPdH (Groundforce) the amount necessary for this company to pay, namely, the salaries of its employees.

These contracts are fully valid and effective, and the unilateral decision to consider them void issued by SPdH (Groundforce) has no binding effect in the absence of a judicial decision supporting this decision (which, on this date, does not exist).