Portuguese gov't asks TAP pilots to cancel 10-day strike

Portugal's Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas on Thursday asked flagship airline TAP pilots to cancel a planned 10-day strike which he said would put the country's state treasury at risk.

"I am making an appeal: think about the country, think about tourism, think about the economy, think about your company. TAP is important, don't contribute to destroy it," Portas told journalists.

"TAP is important today and tomorrow. Don't stage strikes for 10 days this month. That ruins the coffers of any company," he said.

Pilots at TAP plan to launch the strike on Friday to demand a stake of up to 20 percent in the company when it is privatized, claiming the company has broken a deal to grant them stakes made back in 1999.

The state-owned company forecasts that the strike will affect around 300,000 passengers and cost the company at least 70 million euros (about 78.5 million U.S. dollars).

TAP saw losses amounting to 85.1 million euros (95.4 million dollars) last year, and is being privatized under a program taken on by the center-right ruling government to reduce the country's debt load.

The government fears the strike could hamper the concession of the company and has tried to negotiate with pilots.

Portugal's Pilots of Civil Aviation Syndicate (SPAC) has refused to backtrack on its decision.

During a press conference after a meeting with TAP, Helder Santinhos, head of SPAC, confirmed the strike will kick off on Friday, saying that "pilots and employees are fed up with paying for mistakes which are not their own." Endi