The SATA Group and Grupo Desportivo Santa Clara have signed a barter agreement that allows the Ponta Delgada club to have a ceiling of €81,305.50 on Azores Airlines tickets, in business and economy class, during the 2025/26 sports season.

If the amount set in the contract is exceeded, Santa Clara will be entitled to a 10% discount on Azores Airlines tickets (excluding sports and resident fares).

In exchange for the Azores Airlines tickets, SATA benefits from advertising activities within the scope of Santa Clara SAD’s sports activities.

SATA’s support for Santa Clara prompted Chega to submit a request to the Regional Government (as a shareholder in the airline), asking for clarification on the matter.

“How does the main shareholder of Azores Airlines – the Regional Government – justify that a public company with astronomical losses, which are paid for by all Azoreans, is sponsoring a professional football club,” reads the request from the Chega parliamentary group, sent in September, which also highlights that SATA “recorded a negative accumulated net result of €41.1 million in the first half of 2025.”

In response to Chega, the regional secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, claims that the agreement is part of “a strategy to promote the Azores Airlines brand” and is based on “an advertising exchange and not direct financial support.”

For the Azorean executive, “this model of collaboration does not involve financial outlay, but represents an exchange of services, with mutual benefits and indirect returns.” He adds that it “does not compromise the financial sustainability” of Azores Airlines and could contribute to “attracting new revenue” and to the “economic and symbolic enhancement of the brand.”

It should be noted that Santa Clara benefits from annual support from the Regional Government of one million euros under a contract for tourism promotion.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço-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.