"The 2016 results should have a benefit of 220 million because of fuel prices,” Pinto estimated at a workers’ meeting, noting that the saving would improve results, but “not to this extent.”

According to Pinto TAP’s result for 2016, "will be better than last year, but not even close to that extent. We would like it to lead to an improvement of 220 million in results, but that won’t happen, unfortunately.”

TAP ended 2015 with a loss of €99 million, compared to a loss of €46 million the previous year, driven down by €91.4 million in retained earnings in Venezuela.

Without this extraordinary factor, the airline said at the time, “the result would have been a loss of just €7.6 million, showing a clear recovery against 2014."

In 2015 TAP benefited from a drop in fuel prices, with its fuel bill falling by €138 million, from €798 million to €660 million.

At a meeting with the airline’s workers on Monday in Lisbon Pinto presented the measures that would allow the company to return to growth, becoming more competitive by reducing costs and increasing revenues.

Pinto said TAP would launch 11 new routes in 2017, of which seven to Europe, three to Africa and one to North America.