The Left Bloc (BE) accused the regional government of “closing SATA with privatization instead of saving it”.
“This isn’t a set of specifications, it’s a plan to close down SATA International, because it doesn’t guarantee that Faial’s connections with the outside world will be maintained and it envisages that the airline itself will only have to exist for three years,” said BE/Azores coordinator António Lima, at the dinner to present the candidacy for the island of Faial, in Horta.
António Lima recalled that “the SATA privatization process has not been canceled, it’s just been suspended” and that “the right-wing wants to win the elections to finish the job.”
According to the BE/Azores coordinator, “privatizing SATA means leaving the Azores in the hands of Ryanair, the airline that, by threatening to stop flying to the Azores, managed to get airport taxes reduced and even received four million euros to close its base in Ponta Delgada and brutally reduce the number of flights.”
“Without SATA and with a private TAP, our mobility and our economy, which are so dependent on good air connections, are at risk,” he said.

BE SAYS RIGHT-WING WANTS TO WIN ELECTIONS TO END PRIVATIZATION PROCESS

In addition, “privatization will have a huge cost for the region, which will have to pay 380 million euros to sell the airline,” he said.
“These 380 million euros are the amount of SATA Internacional’s debt that Bolieiro and the right-wing coalition want the Azoreans to pay down to the last cent, in order to be left without the airline,” lamented the BE coordinator.
António Lima pointed out that “the PS also defends the privatization of SATA International” and that “Vasco Cordeiro only disagrees with the coalition on the timing of the sale and the percentage of the sale.”
“All the other parties with parliamentary representation – Chega, IL and PAN – want the same thing: to privatize SATA, jeopardizing Faial’s connections abroad, jeopardizing the mobility of the Azoreans and our economy,” he said.
António Lima states, “The BE defends the recovery of SATA and the guarantee that the public service is properly compensated.”

in Diário Insular – José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)