Pilots’ union satisfied with cancellation of tender for the sale of Azores Airlines

Lisbon, May 2, 2024 (Lusa) – The Civil Aviation Pilots Union (SPAC) today expressed satisfaction with the annulment and launch of a new tender for the privatization of Azores Airlines, part of the SATA group, announced by the Regional Government.

“Over the last few months, SPAC has been warning of the various inconsistencies in the Azores Airlines privatization process and, very recently, it once again mentioned that the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium would jeopardize the future of the Azorean company. and air transport throughout the Region”, said the union, in a statement.

The Government of the Azores announced today the cancellation of the privatization tender for the airline Azores Airlines and the launch of a new one, claiming that the company was valued at six million euros at the beginning of the process and is now worth 20 million, but denied that the reserves on the competing consortium weighed in on the decision.

At the beginning of April, the jury for the public tender for the privatization of Azores Airlines delivered the final report and maintained the decision to accept only one competitor, but admitted reservations regarding the ability of the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium to ensure the company’s viability.

The Board of Directors of the SATA group, led by Teresa Gonçalves, who has since resigned, expressed “reservations about the NewTour MS Aviation consortium and the limitations of the competitor” in the opinion sent to the Regional Government.

The SPAC defended today that, “if viable candidates are not positioned in a future competition, the company should not be privatized” and called for the need to ask the European Commission for more time “to demonstrate that the company can be profitable”.

The union also defended that, in a new competition, the “suitability, financial stability, experience in the aviation sector and investment capacity demonstrated by the future partner” should be guaranteed and recommended the organization of a “Road Show Privatization Azores Airlines”, to promote the airline and guarantee the interest of more competitors and investors and “better suited to the objectives of SATA and the Autonomous Region of the Azores”.