Environmental commitment

Promote efficiency and protect the Environment.

We at TAP are always working to become more efficient, offering our passengers a top-quality service and ensuring high-safety standards.
Promoting the company's sustainable growth is one of TAP's top commitments. The challenges facing an airline such as TAP go well beyond air transport activities, and include the facilities where the company operates and assures the maintenance of aircraft, engines, and many components.

The aviation industry, and TAP in particular, is facing major challenges due to current world events. Outlining a consolidated strategy that will allow the economic recovery of the company, the tourism industry and the country in general - while observing high-quality standards - will only be possible if we commit to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations.

Energy efficiency and and CO₂ emissions

TAP is committed to ensuring compliance with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) resolution to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050, which will only be possible with the involvement of all stakeholders.

The decarbonization of the aviation sector is a major challenge when it comes to sustainable mobility, as dependence on fossil fuels is still quite high. While technological solutions for the energy transition are not yet widely accessible, the Company continues to work on projects and initiatives aimed at reducing its environmental footprint.

The entry into operation of more efficient aircraft models, as part of the TAP fleet modernization program, has allowed for significant improvements in terms of efficient energy use and environmental protection. These new aircraft feature more efficient combustion engines, making it possible to reduce up to 20% in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Improving efficient energy use and choosing Portuguese suppliers were the main criteria in the process of redesigning the cabin interiors of existing active aircraft. This project has made possible to increase the capacity of these airplanes by 12 seats, while reducing their weight by 800 kg.

At TAP, the operation's energy efficiency indicator is measured through fuel consumption per passenger, over a 100-kilometer route flown.
Since 2015, TAP has consistently improved this indicator, reflecting an investment in fleet modernization and increasingly optimized operations, except for 2020 and 2021, where the sector was faced with the biggest challenge of recent decades – the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, there was an improvement in TAP's energy and environmental efficiency indicator by 9.1% when compared to the value achieved in 2019 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic).

Jet fuel consumption per passenger

(l/100pkm)

Carbon dioxide emissions per passenger

(g CO₂ /pkm)

Voluntary Carbon Offsetting Program

TAP’s carbon offset programme, available for over 10 years, is a voluntary mechanism that allows our customers to address the CO₂ emissions from their travels, by supporting certified projects that reduce or remove CO₂ emissions in an amount equivalent to the estimated carbon footprint of their trips.

While TAP acknowledges that offsetting emissions is only a small contribution to tackle climate change, this program provide our customers with options for supporting climate action around the world.

Currently, this program, developed in partnership with CHOOOSE™, is available to our regular Passengers, Corporate Customers and TAP Air Cargo Customers.

Regular Passengers and TAP Corporate | Emissions offsetting option available on flyTAP and TAP Corporate booking portals. In 2024, an exclusive platform will be made available to Corporate customers where it will be possible to monitor, measure and address CO₂ emissions through certified projects.

For more information about the program, see the dedicated page.

TAP Air Cargo Customers | Emissions offsetting option is available on the dedicated platform. On this portal, TAP Air Cargo Customers, after registering on the platform, will be able to monitor, measure the CO₂ emissions associated with cargo transport and address them through certified projects.

Supported Certified Projects:

Doyon Native Community Forest Project | United States | Forest management.
Landfill Gas Extraction Project | Turkey | Renewable energy.
Theparak Wind Farm Project | Thailand | Renewable energy.
Toyola Energy Project | Nigeria | Health and livelihoods.

+ 145,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide offset since the beginning of the programme (2009-2023).

Waste

In 2020 TAP rolled out the RECICLA+ project to increase the amount of waste sent for recycling (paper/cardboard and plastic/metal), thus reducing the volume of unsorted waste. This project, will focus on three major types of waste: ordinary waste produced on the Campus, waste produced in the maintenance and engineering activity carried out on the Campus, and waste produced on board aircraft.

Disposable Plastic Reduction Program

TAP is focused on reducing the amount of single-use plastic on its aircraft and committed to finding reusable and more sustainable options on the market, so as to replace this material while maintaining high-safety standards throughout the company and following market trends in terms of materials.

As an example, TAP has already introduced wooden coffee stirrers to replace disposable plastic ones. On long-haul routes, plastic wrappers for headphones and comfort kits have been removed. Various materials used on our flights are already reusable, so they are collected by our service providers in Portugal.

Given the cross-cutting nature of this program, we have also made some changes at our headquarters, our TAP Campus, by replacing some disposable plastic items with more ecologically-friendly solutions. As an example, we no longer use plastic cups in bars and are now using reusable items for all desserts, salads and meals at the company's cafeteria.

Noise

The TAP fleet is increasingly quiet, complying with the noise limits established by the ICAO (Annex 16, volume 1). From an operational point of view, TAP has also adopted several measures to minimize noise levels. While landing, for instance, pilots avoid using the engine to brake the aircraft (reverse thrust), using wheel brakes instead.

Biodiversity

Since 2015, TAP has prohibited the shipment of animal trophies, laboratory animals, shark fins and any part of animals that appear on the list of "Endangered Animals", as freight. In 2017, TAP became signatory of the Buckingham Palace Declaration which aims to reduce the illegal trade of wildlife, following 2016 IATA’s AGM Resolution unanimously endorsed, denouncing the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, and pledging to partner with government authorities and conservation organizations in the fight against the trafficking of protected species.