The competition jury accepted a further postponement of the bid submission deadline for the purchase of Azores Airlines (SATA Internacional), as requested by the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium. The new date is now set for the 24th of this month.

The president of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, argued yesterday that the postponements are intended to ensure the robustness of the final bid.

“I would prefer this matter to have already been resolved. It does not concern me because, in fact, it has been with a goal that is fundamental and dear to the Government of the Azores: to ensure consistency in a solution that is committed to the European Union, dialogue, and consultation with the workers themselves,” he told reporters.

Bolieiro stressed that the Regional Government’s responsibility is to monitor the process being developed by SATA’s administration and the tender jury.

“These are postponements, but, on the other hand, it also reassures me because the justification has to do with the commitment to the consistency of the proposal,” he reinforced.

The jury, chaired by economist Augusto Mateus, accepted the request from the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium to extend the deadline initially set for November 10, last Monday. This was already a postponement, since the original date was October 24.

The focus has been on negotiations with employees, particularly the company’s pilots, represented by the Civil Aviation Pilots Union (SPAC).

Earlier this week, the union announced that an agreement had been reached on privatization, which “ensures the full protection of jobs and the intangibility of pilots’ base pay and per diems.”

The Newtour/MS Aviation consortium will apply “strictly temporary measures, with defined deadlines, objective targets, and joint monitoring and auditing mechanisms under the supervision of SPAC, ensuring transparency and control at all stages of implementation,” SPAC said in a statement.

The regional secretary for Finance, Planning, and Public Administration, Duarte Freitas, reiterated in October that if the privatization process of Azores Airlines does not materialize, the Azores Government is prepared to proceed with a direct sale.

Duarte Freitas admitted that it is possible to request an extension of the deadline, set for the end of this year, from Brussels.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the CDU Azores called for the immediate suspension of the privatization of Azores Airlines until “the financial and legal details of the deal” are clear.

The CDU also calls for the publication of “SATA’s economic assessment and audit reports, including the real value of the liabilities and obligations assumed by the Regional Government.”

In June 2022, the European Commission approved state aid to support the restructuring of Azores Airlines, for €453.25 million in loans and state guarantees, subject to the sale of between 51% and 85% of the carrier’s share capital.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço-director