SATA is extremely important for the accessibility policy in the Azores, thus the intervention of the Azorean Government should always bear in mind the ultimate purpose of preserving the service which is rendered to all Azoreans, particularly at a moment when the civil aviation is facing great challenges,” said the Regional Secretariat for the Economy in Ponta Delgada today.

Vasco Cordeiro spoke at a conference on “The air transport in the Azores,” alerting for the “daily menaces, regarding the survival of SATA” and reminded that “it is not correct to think that the obligations of the inter-island public service are automatically assigned to SATA. (…) We are not immune from the effects of competition; therefore, we must not forget that SATA is competing as any other company.”

With regard to the Obligations for the inter-island Public Service, which will come into force on October 1, Vasco Cordeiro stressed “the effort that was made in order to reduce air fares, already announced for all flight connections, or the creation of low fares for large families, as well as for students.

Nonetheless, for the Regional Secretariat for the Economy, there is a balanced that must be respected in order to avoid liabilities to the balance of the Regional air company; “SATA is a company run by public capitals, thus having to comply with its public obligations, but in order to demand the company to fulfil these obligations, SATA must exist. (…) The shareholder, that is, the Government of the Azores has been intervening in order to reconcile these two interests, the commercial and the public service.”

Concerning the air transport in the Region, the Regional Secretary for the Economy assured at the Parliament that the Island of Terceira will not suffer any penalty with the concentration of the new fleet of SATA Air Azores. “All islands will benefit from the Dash Q200 and Q400 aircrafts, because with their entry into operation, there will be a greater capacity for cargo transportation.”  

Vasco Cordeiro answered the questions posed by the opposition parties at the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and assured that there is not any intention to cause liabilities to any island of the Archipelago, but “to allow the necessary conditions for an effective improvement of the services provided by SATA.”

The Secretary for Economy assured that the decision to concentrate SATA’s regional fleet meets “criteria that will enable a better management and profitability of the existing resources, thereby providing better responses to the needs of all islands.”

Vasco Cordeiro also considered that the dispersion of SATA’s fleet would, contrary to the claims of the opposition, “lead to an increase of the company’s costs, as this decision would require the need of duplicating some of the existing infrastructures.”

Furthermore, the Secretary clarified that the situation of “the overnight stay of an aircraft twice a week during the winter” will be maintained, stressing that “we should not mix up parking with base or with overnight stay, for the reason that these two situation do not have any type of influence on the service quality that is provided to passengers.”