The region’s structural fiscal imbalance remains unresolved, a persistent condition that continues to constrain the normal functioning of the archipelago’s economy. As I have argued in previous articles, responsibility for breaking this deadlock lies primarily with the Republic, but also with the Azores themselves. For years, this budgetary shortfall has been allowed to drag on, the result not of ignorance, but of a sustained failure to engage in dialogue and to build a durable compromise between the State and the Region.

The accounting data detailing the amounts involved and the functions to be carried out by each party—the State, the Regional Government, and the municipalities—have been known for decades. There are, therefore, no objective reasons for this situation to persist. If administrative and financial responsibilities are clearly defined and long established, what justifies the continuation of this permanent noise, this unresolved friction? Periodic and rigorous reassessment of functions, competencies, and responsibilities among the three parties is healthy and necessary. But when the numbers and roles have long been known, nothing justifies the permanence of this structural mismatch.

At the same time, the prolonged uncertainty surrounding SATA’s privatization process is having severe consequences for the airline’s financial health. This drawn-out limbo is dramatically weakening the company and undermining the viability of any model capable of preserving the essential functions and responsibilities that neither the Region nor the country can afford to lose.

Regardless of the operational model ultimately chosen, SATA is indispensable to air connectivity between the islands and between the islands and the mainland. Its operation must, of course, respect economic rationality. But without daily connections—both for passengers and cargo—among the nine islands, the Region would be effectively paralyzed. Such a breakdown would constitute an unacceptable shock and a profound civilizational regression.

That said, with all due respect, the privatization model currently being discussed strikes me as deeply unrealistic. On seven of the nine Azorean islands, particularly between October and March, daily landings at small airport infrastructures can be counted on one hand. As I have repeatedly pointed out, this reality exposes a fundamental truth: a significant portion of the Region’s economic activity lacks scale. And without scale, the laws of economics are unforgiving—fixed costs cannot be absorbed when business volume simply does not exist.

For this reason, SATA, given its role as a general-interest service essential to the Region’s functioning, must operate under a model of austere economic rationality. While remaining public, it should be open to a private management concession—one that prevents the political entanglements that, as we have seen time and again over the years, inevitably distort and undermine the airline’s normal operation, regardless of which political force is in power. Such a concession must be grounded in a rigorous set of obligations and a structured public discussion that clearly demonstrates the technical and financial capacity of the selected operator to meet SATA’s medium-term operational commitments.

I believe it was the previous board of directors that wisely decided to close ticket offices on all islands that duplicated airport structures, some located only a few hundred meters away. I had written about this irrationality years ago, and I commend that administration for ending what reportedly amounted to roughly €1.5 million in unnecessary costs.

In my view, it also makes little sense to privatize SATA’s handling services, given the scarcity of operations on most islands. Privatize what, exactly? Fewer than half a dozen daily landings per island during the winter? SATA must remain public because public entities will inevitably have to pay for its existence. Revenue is insufficient, and the excessive fixed costs resulting from a lack of scale cannot be absorbed. This is, unfortunately, our geographic reality—and it is unlikely to change in the medium term.

Realism, therefore, is not optional. It is imperative.

José Manuel Moneiro da Silva, Emeritus Justice

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with a sense of the significant perspectives on some of the archipelago’s issues.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL).