Regional Government welcomes contract award for air transport Public Service Obligations to SATA/TAP Consortium - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral, expressed today the Regional Government's great satisfaction with the National Government's decision to award the contract for Public Service Obligations (PSO) on air transport between the Azores, Mainland Portugal, and Madeira.

Berta Cabral praised the National Government's constructive and diligent stance in seeking a solution to a situation that had been dragging on since 2015 and had greatly contributed to the economic and financial deterioration of Azores Airlines.

“It is fair to acknowledge that the current Government has sought from the outset to ensure that the Azores would finally be served by remunerated PSOs, restoring territorial justice to our Region,” she said.

The contract now awarded to the consortium comprising SATA Internacional – Azores Airlines, S.A. and TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, S.A. will ensure flight connections between Lisbon and Faial, Lisbon and Santa Maria, and Lisbon and Pico, as well as routes connecting Funchal to the islands of São Miguel and Terceira, for the next five years.

It should be noted, in a positive light, that the Terceira-Funchal route was introduced under these PSOs at the proposal of the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructures, representing a new achievement for the Region's connectivity.

“We are very pleased, as this is the culmination of a long process that responds to the ongoing demands of the current Regional Government, which found an ally in the Government led by Luís Montenegro in building a solution for the mobility of Azorean citizens,” stressed Berta Cabral.