Lisbon, July 14, 2026 (Lusa) - The Supreme Court of Justice confirmed on Tuesday that the Lisbon Central Civil Court will hear the case that former chief executive (CEO) Christine Ourmières-Widener brought against TAP, she said in a statement to Lusa.
The former CEO said that “the Supreme Court of Justice’s decision definitively confirms that the Lisbon Central Civil Court is the competent court to hear this case, recognising that the dispute arises from a corporate rather than an administrative relationship”.
Thus, “with this decision, a long procedural debate has come to an end, and the case can finally proceed to be heard on its merits”.
According to Christine Ourmières-Widener, from the outset, “the aim has always been for the facts to be assessed independently and impartially by the competent court”, with the former CEO maintaining that there is “full confidence that the Portuguese courts will conduct a rigorous assessment of the facts and the law”.
“As I have had occasion to state, I remain open to a fair and balanced solution that will bring this case to a close. Should that not be the course of action, I shall wait calmly for the Lisbon Central Civil Court to consider the merits of the case,” she said.
In February, the Lisbon Court of Appeal confirmed that the case brought by Christine Ourmières-Widener against TAP should be heard in the civil court, rejecting the airline’s appeal on jurisdiction.
The case concerns Christine Ourmières-Widener’s challenge to the dismissal for just cause that the government announced in March 2023, following the opinion of the Inspectorate-General of Finance regarding the €500,000 compensation paid to Alexandra Reis.
TAP’s defence argued that the administrative courts should hear the dispute, as it involved the dismissal of a public manager – an argument that the first-instance court, the Court of Appeal and now the Supreme Court have all rejected.
The case will therefore proceed to trial in the civil court, where the claim for compensation of €5.9 million submitted by the former chief executive will be considered; the airline maintains a different view on this figure.
Her calculations include the sums she considers she is entitled to until the end of her contract (in 2025) and performance bonuses for having led TAP to make a profit in 2022, which had not happened for five years, and for having brought forward the targets set out in the restructuring plan agreed with Brussels by almost three years.
In addition, it includes a sum for dismissal without the required 180 days’ notice and for reputational damage.
TAP’s figures, set out in its defence submission in January 2024, point to a total sum of €432,000.
ALN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
