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(Bloomberg) -- Portugal’s government is considering selling a stake of at least 49% of TAP SA in its latest attempt to privatize the state-owned airline, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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The privatization process is due to start in March and may be concluded at the end of this year or in 2026, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing information that isn’t public. There are about 12 firms interested in TAP, the person said.

A spokesman at Portugal’s infrastructure ministry declined to comment.

Europe’s largest full-service airlines — Air France-KLM, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and British Airways owner IAG SA — have all gone public with their interest in TAP. Its biggest attraction lies in being the biggest European provider of air links to Brazil. Portugal’s flagship carrier also maintains a strong presence in Africa and operates a number of flights to North America.

TAP is among a small batch of state-owned carriers still up for grabs in Europe, a region now dominated by the three major airline groups. Lufthansa in January completed the acquisition of a minority stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways, while Air France-KLM last year purchased a stake in SAS AB.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who took office in April, has said the government wants to keep the airline’s hub in Lisbon, as well as routes that are strategic for the country.

The previous administration had aimed to sell at least 51% of the carrier in a privatization plan announced in 2023. By potentially selling a minority stake, Montenegro could sidestep political opposition in parliament that would otherwise threaten a plan to sell a majority stake.

Besides carrying tourists who have been visiting Portugal in greater numbers, TAP’s flights link a global diaspora of the country’s citizens and also connect the mainland to the Madeira and Azores archipelagos in the middle of the Atlantic.

The Portuguese airline is led by CEO Luis Rodrigues and carried 16 million passengers last year, a 1.6% increase from 2023.

(Adds government spokesman declined to comment in third paragraph, details on government’s plans for TAP in sixth.)

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