The Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIPD), in a statement sent to newsrooms, reports that, according to data released by VisitAzores, João Paulo II Airport will have 354,514 seats available for flights to the island of São Miguel in the 2025/26 IATA winter season. This figure represents a growth of only 1.9% compared to the same period last year.
The CCIPD Board considers this increase to be small and insufficient, given the greater tourist offer expected for 2025 and the marked seasonality that continues to affect the region.
The business association also expresses concern about the inconsistency in the opening and closing of air routes, which highlights a lack of consistency and coordination between air transport, tourism promotion, and the quality of the offer. This instability, the CCIPD stresses, conveys insecurity to the market and leads to an unequivocal reduction in demand.
For the Chamber of Commerce, Azores Airlines’ decisions regarding the opening or cancellation of international routes should be coordinated with the main stakeholders in the sector, in particular with VisitAzores, which is responsible for promoting the destination. Otherwise, there is a risk of failing to fulfill the mission of serving the Azores, since traffic between Europe and North America does not generate significant value for the destination.
The closure of Ryanair’s base in Ponta Delgada in the IATA winter 2023/24 season, combined with the limited growth in the number of seats available from the company for next winter, is pointed out by the CCIPD as a “significant factor of uncertainty.” This concern is exacerbated by accommodation occupancy figures, which fell by 1.6 percentage points to 71.9% between January and July 2025, a sign that demand is not keeping pace with supply.
In this context, the CCIPD considers it urgent to implement an integrated, effective, and sustainable strategy that aligns air transport, tourism promotion, and the quality of supply to ensure stability, competitiveness, and sustainability for the Azores as a destination, particularly the island of São Miguel.
Portugal remains the main market, with 278,876 seats (+3.5%), while other destinations show different trends: increases in France (+22%) and Spain (+16%), but declines in the United States (-4%), Canada (-1.2%), Switzerland (-20%), and the Netherlands (-59%). Italy and the Czech Republic are no longer represented, while Germany has yet to resume connections in winter.
In the domestic market, Lisbon remains the main gateway, with TAP (90,036 seats, +1%) and SATA (87,420 seats, +1%). From Porto, Ryanair grows significantly (12,847 seats, +36%), while SATA records a slight drop (49,818 seats, -1%). In Faro, SATA shows the highest relative growth (11,484 seats, +44%) and, from Madeira, guarantees 18,414 seats (+3%).


José Henrique Andrade is a journalist for Correio dos Açores. Natalino Viveiros is the director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.