“The European Union accepted our position, understood our efforts, and with this understanding, there is a possibility to extend the deadline for the conclusion of the SATA restructuring process, which will be deliberated by December 31, 2026, in the next College of Commissioners,” stated Duarte Freitas, the Regional Secretary of Finance of the Azorean government.
The statement was made during a regional plenary session in Horta, amid discussions on the 2026 budget proposal amendment by BE.
The Azorean Regional Government announced on Tuesday that in the context of regular meetings with the European Commission, an extension until December 31, 2026, was requested for the decision regarding the restructuring of the SATA group, considering market response and the complexity of the process.
On the same day, it was revealed that entrepreneurs Carlos Tavares, Tiago Raiano, Paulo Pereira, and Nuno Pereira submitted a joint proposal to acquire 85% of the Azorean airline, Azores Airlines.
In today’s debate, Socialist Carlos Silva questioned the Regional Government about the reasons for paying the Christmas bonus twice to SATA group workers.
According to the Secretary of Finance, “what happened this year is an event that will not be repeated; as is known, the SATA group had to pay the last tranche of six million euros due to the Cachalote [an A330 aircraft].”
“This occurrence was one of the last major losses that the Cachalote brought to the region, to SATA and, in this case, also to SATA workers. With this matter resolved, in 2026, there will no longer be costs attributed to that tragedy, the Cachalote plane,” he assured.
In his response, the official also read a message from SATA’s management to employees indicating that “the unavoidable final payment of 6.5 million euros” related to the Cachalote aircraft “conditioned the transfer of the Christmas bonus,” which will be paid in two installments, the first as 30% of the bonus with November’s salary and the remainder by December 15.
Deputy Carlos Silva remarked that the delay in the Christmas bonus payment “is not a minor problem; it is significant,” highlighting that in recent years, SATA’s management has been “ruinous.”
The Socialist found it “unacceptable” for the company’s management to send an email with such content: “We are playing with nearly 1,600 employees who will not receive [their Christmas bonus] and have to hear an excuse that is not acceptable.”
António Lima (BE) questioned the Regional Government on whether it would assume the company’s liabilities, to which Duarte Freitas responded that “the Azorean people know there is a liability from this company and previous managements, which must be assumed and will be assumed by all Azoreans. It’s evident. We should not mislead people. It’s simple and evident. All Azoreans will pay.”
João Bruto da Costa (PSD) accused the PS of “playing with something very serious” and stated that the Bloc “thinks that selling SATA will make the debt disappear.”
Nuno Barata (IL) stated that the reason for the delay in the Christmas bonus payment “proves the incompetence” of SATA’s administration, expressing that they already knew about the costs associated with the A330 aircraft.
José Pacheco (Chega) regretted that the discussion on the company occurred during the budget specialty debate.
The BE proposal to withdraw Azores Airlines’ privatization from the budget and submit it to a regional assembly vote was rejected by a majority of deputies, with only BE voting in favor and PSD/CDS-PP/PPM and Chega voting against.
