The Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works congratulated SATA's employees, highlighting that they "have managed to reinvent SATA" during the pandemic period and "are managing to reinvent it during this period of recovery." 

Ana Cunha visited today the João Paulo II Airport in Ponta Delgada in order to "become better acquainted with SATA's performance and the operations carried out during the most difficult phase of the pandemic, when several limitations were imposed." 

For the government official, the regional airline is managing to reinvent itself and respond to the needs of the Azores, "namely in the transport of cargo and in the important role it played in the transport of certain types of goods, such as fish, foodstuffs and also medical equipment, and, above all, in the transport of displaced patients in urgent situations." 

The Regional Secretary pointed out the resumption of inter-island flights, which took place on May 29, considering that "it is one of the measures that will bring the normality to people's lives" and "falls within the measures for the recovery of the Azorean economy." 
 
“This goal will be achieved gradually in a safe and phased way since everything will depend on the evolution of the disease in the near future, but that did not prevent this scheduled resumption of the inter-island flights operated by SATA." According to her, "this turns out to be very important for people and economic agents, even though there is, as we all know, a certain degree of uncertainty in this recovery," said the government official. 

For Ana Cunha, the Azoreans "were very understanding" when faced with the decision to limit the airline's operation for public health reasons, perceiving "the reasons why inter-island travel was limited." In this context, SATA "has played its role with competence: it never suspended its transport operations, as it could not be otherwise, in urgent situations, namely patients, and even adapted its operations to reduce the constraints on these displaced patients." 

The Regional Secretary also recalled its "relevant role in the transport of cargo and mail," particularly in the "inter-island transport of fish," and also "the records that have been achieved in the transport of cargo to Mainland Portugal." 

In the resumption of operations and as the number of flights increases, there may be "some constraints, due to more people disembarking, but the situation is being monitored by airport authorities - ANA, the Regional Health Authorities and SATA," said Ana Cunha. In this regard, the government official added, for now, air transport operations are subject to the international rules in force for aviation, namely the mandatory use of mask or the mandatory distance in closed spaces such as air terminals. 
 
All these "measures contribute to preventing the eventual spread of the disease," said the Regional Secretary.