In a move that underscores both urgency and unease around the future of the Azores’ flagship airline, Regional Government President José Manuel Bolieiro announced Tuesday the creation of a working group to monitor the privatization of SATA’s ground handling operations—an effort aimed at restoring dialogue amid mounting labor concerns.

The announcement followed a high-stakes meeting with representatives from the workers’ committee of SATA Air Açores, as well as key unions including SINTAC and SITAVA, and the employee representative on SATA’s board. At the heart of the discussion: a growing sense among workers that the process has moved forward without sufficient transparency or engagement.

“There has been a clear demand for more dialogue and more information,” Bolieiro said after the meeting. “What I have committed to is ensuring that both the government and the board of directors maintain a genuine openness—one that allows for dialogue and a serious consideration of workers’ concerns.”

The proposed working group, he explained, would function as an additional layer of oversight—operating alongside existing channels between management, unions, and employee representatives—to closely track developments in the privatization of ground handling services.

Yet Bolieiro made clear that the broader trajectory is not up for debate. The privatization process, he emphasized, is embedded within a restructuring plan negotiated with the European Commission—a plan that leaves little room for reversal. “We must honor the commitments of the restructuring plan,” he said. “The market has already responded as it has. We have procedural obligations, and we are fulfilling them.”

The president also downplayed criticism over delays in meeting with workers, framing scheduling conflicts as logistical rather than political. “My record speaks for itself,” he said. “I am known as a president who values dialogue.”

For labor leaders, however, the situation remains fraught. Filipe Rocha, head of SINTAC, acknowledged that the renewed commitment to dialogue could open the door to reconsidering a partial strike planned between the 24th and 30th of this month. Still, caution prevails.

“We will reassess with our members,” said Vítor Mendes of SITAVA. “But there is no room for complacency. This is a turbulent process that has dragged on for four years. There is significant fatigue, and serious doubts remain about whether this restructuring plan truly benefits the workers.”

Those doubts extend to the very premise of privatization. Dário Ponte, representing the workers’ committee, welcomed the promise of greater dialogue but reiterated firm opposition to the sale of handling services. “What the European directive requires is accounting separation—not necessarily privatization,” he argued. “We are being asked to dismantle a public monopoly in the name of the region, only to replace it with a private one. That may serve the region, but it does not serve SATA’s workers.”

The stakes are not confined to the Azores alone. Earlier this year, the European Commission agreed to extend deadlines for both SATA and TAP Air Portugal to complete their privatization processes. According to Brussels, these asset sales are a condition for the state aid granted to support their restructuring.

At Portugal’s request, the Commission extended the deadline to December 31, 2026, for SATA to sell a majority (51%) stake in Azores Airlines and to divest its ground handling business.

Between regulatory mandates and labor resistance, the process now enters a delicate phase—one where the language of compliance meets the lived realities of workers, and where the promise of reform must contend with the weight of uncertainty.

Translated and adapted from a story in Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director