Ourmières-Widener explained that she prefers to speak of a “transformation” rather than restructuring and highlighted the role of the European Commission and the Government in this process.

"Firstly there is the dimension of the European Commission, they know our plan, we have been talking about it, it is being led by the Government, because we are talking about State aid", she explained while guaranteeing that the carrier is “definitely” involved in the conversations.

“What we are doing now and what we want in the future I think is clear”, she stressed, indicating that “it will focus on cost restructuring” and adjusting capacity to demand. The CEO also highlighted the importance of the company being closer to customers, as well as "a workers dimension" that is being developed "now" and of which she did not elaborate further.

"It is a vast and complex plan and we intend to put it into operation in October", she concluded, noting that it is still necessary to "submit the implementation plan to the Board of Directors in advance, in accordance with the procedures".

“We are working to be more specific and more detailed about what we want to do today, in a few months and in the coming year”, stressed Christine Ourmières-Widener, noting that “it is always difficult to predict what we want to do in four, five years from an action plan”.

“But at least we want to start disclosing as much as possible what the priorities for the coming months and for the next year are,” she stressed.

On 10 June, Portugal formally notified the European Commission of restructuring aid worth €3,200 million, with the aim of financing a restructuring plan for the group through TAP Air Portugal.

“I think that aviation is going through the most difficult crisis since its creation”, defended the CEO, adding that “there is nothing comparable”.

“I believe that this crisis will be difficult to overcome, but at the same time we must believe that we will become stronger after it”, she stressed.

Christine Ourmières-Widener believes that “there will be some changes in commercial aviation because of consolidation”, noting that “some companies will be even bigger, like the 'low cost' ones, because they have a very strong cash position compared to the flag carrying airlines”.

For the executive president of TAP, another major change in the sector “will be the willingness of customers to access more online services”.

“The digital transformation we are expecting will be even stronger and we have to listen and understand the trends so that we are ready to respond when they start to look like signs of recovery,” she said.