Consortium will challenge the cancellation of the privatization of Azores Airline in court – Aviation

The Newtour/MS Aviation Consortium will challenge in court the decision of the Government of the Azores to cancel the privatization process of Azores Airlines. The group was the only valid competitor in the race to obtain 51% to 85% of the airline and announced, in a statement, that it will “use all legal mechanisms within its reach” to reverse the decision.

The Regional Government announced, this Thursday, that it would cancel the competition based on “significant change in the economic and financial conditions taken into account in the initial assessment of the airline”, claiming that the company, which at the beginning of the process was worth 6 million, is now valued at 20 million. A new contest will be launched.

Newtour/MS Aviation considers that the justification presented by the government of José Manuel Bolieiro “has no basis“, since the “negotiation phase provided for in the tender rules could accommodate a possible change in the economic and financial conditions taken into account in the initial assessment of the airline”, it said in a statement. Furthermore, the consortium regrets “that it has was denied access to several competition documents, namely the final report drawn up by the jury, as it had been requested several times and through its own channels”.