TAP, the flag carrier of Portugal celebrates the first anniversary of their stopover program.
First introduced in the summer 2016 TAP Stopover is a very interesting initiative for those on connecting flights leading through Portugal. In order to promote tourism in Lisbon and Porto, where the two major international airports of Portugal are located, the airline offered its customers a possibility of an up to three days stopover at no additional cost.
Travelling with TAP? Add the beautiful city of Porto to your route.
This way, the passengers on long trips, instead of sometimes exhausting long wait at Lisbon or Porto airports, were given a chance to leave the airport, go into the city, see the local sights and come back to the airport to continue their trip to the final destination.
In the initial phase, the maximum stopover period was of up to 3 days. However, addressing one of the most common complaints from passengers participating in the program, the one of not having sufficient time to visit thoroughly the stopover destinations, the airline decided to extend the stopover period to 5 days. This created even more flexibility for passenger to plan multi-destination journeys.
Furthermore, TAP broadened the conditions of the Stopover program; apart from the longer stopover period, the program was also made available also on one-way flights (in the first phase stopovers were only possible on round trips), as well as on journeys from different airports at no additional air fares.
Additionally, several Portuguese destinations, also in the archipelagos of the Madeira and the Azores were included in the program, allowing TAP passenger to benefit from the free of charge stopovers in Lisbon and Porto also when their final destinations is, for example, in Faro or in Funchal.
The Stopover program has a huge impact on the tourism in Lisbon and Porto and incorporates a constantly growing number of partnerships with tourist operators, restaurant chains, hotels. Promotional rates on accommodation, meals, museum tickets or guided tours are additional advantages available for TAP Stopover customers.
