The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated today that the Government of the Azores has been working to ensure that the arrival of low cost airlines to the island of Terceira may become a reality shortly.

Vítor Fraga emphasised that the Regional Government is "far from giving up on this matter and believes that this work will yield good results," highlighting "all the efforts undertaken by the Region Government to ensure that the arrival of low cost airlines to the island of Terceira may become a reality in a short period time."

The Regional Secretary was keen to point out, one by one, the two dozen contacts and meetings with the low cost airlines already operating in Ponta Delgada that have been held since September 2014 to discuss the possibility of flying to Terceira. The government official ensured that the Regional Government "will continue to establish contacts and undertake these efforts until the day when low cost airlines reach the island of Terceira. The Government of the Azores, as a key player in promoting the development of this archipelago, will never stop fighting and has always believed in the potential of the Region and, in particular, of Terceira."

Vítor Fraga added that, for the Government, "this matter clearly falls under the new model of air accessibility to the Region. Hence, it is also important that the National Government take action in order to ensure a positive outcome for this claim."

The Regional Secretary reiterated that "the Regional Government is working hard so that Terceira may win this challenge that will also benefit the Azores since the victory of an island is the victory of the Azores. This contradicts the action taken by others, such as the leader of the one that is considered to be the main opposition party, who seeks a central role through propaganda and the assumption of responsibilities do not fall under his powers, making announcements out of context and without any concern about the consequences that these attitudes might have in the course of contacts and negotiation processes."

Vítor Fraga stressed that we cannot "remain indifferent to the lack of shame of MP Duarte Freitas, who has proven capable of using any stratagem to achieve the goals that move him: self-promotion, visibility, the desire to appear in the front pages of newspapers and a few seconds of glory in the radio or television at the expense of others."

"This happened with the implementation of the new accessibility model, the tax reduction in the Azores and it continues to happen with the arrival of low cost airlines to Terceira," said the government official.

For Vítor Fraga, "PSD has entered in 'electioneering' mode long ago, taking all efforts in a huge frenzy, without regard to means, to clean the image of the bad work that has been done in the governance of Portugal, where it had no shame to say that, in order to satisfy some interests, it had to leave the poor poorer and further enrich those who were already rich."
 
"We are aware that MP Duarte Freitas has a hard and arduous task ahead of him, but there are limits to everything," added the government official.

Vítor Fraga also noted what the Regional Government has been "working hard throughout this legislative period in order to attract new flight operations to Terceira not only in terms of low cost airlines but also in terms of charter flights, which will increase tourism flows to that island." Therefore, "it is unfortunate that some, knowing beforehand that this work is being carried out by the Government, come to the media to say that after all we need to attract charter flights to Terceira in an attempt to raise their ego or to appear on the front pages of newspapers."

The Regional Secretary assured that the Government does not guide its work "by news or a media agenda." In fact, the government official stressed that the Regional Government is working to "create the conditions to promote the sustainable development of the tourism sector in the Region at the same pace on all islands, breaking every possible difference. However, it should be done in a sustainable manner and, above all, in a serious and responsible manner."

Speaking at a press conference organised by SATA to present the reinforcement of its operations to and from Mainland Portugal, Vítor Fraga congratulated the Azorean airline by, once again, putting into practice a measure whose need was identified in a timely manner. This measure represents an increase in the number of flights and, therefore, will contribute to the improvement of mobility in the Azores and the coming of more visitors to the Region. The island of Terceira is the destination for many of these visitors.