The Association of Sustainable Tourism of Faial (ATSF) is both surprised and concerned with the statements made by the president of the Board of Directors of SATA about the future of the gateways in Faial, Pico and Santa Maria.

In a press release sent to newsrooms, ATSF recognizes SATA's willingness to “find a path of economic viability, which is respectable and desirable for all Azoreans”, but warns that those airports are “scapegoats” for the regional airline's losses, considering that last year's numbers regarding the routes to Pico and Faial "are far from explaining the company's financial disaster".

“The revision of Public Service Obligations (PSO), which would allow SATA (or another competing airline) to be fairly compensated for the service it provides on these gateways, was claimed by our Association, together with other business and civic entities, and presented in 2019 to the then President of the Government of the Azores, Vasco Cordeiro. Revising PSO is a responsibility of the political power and has to be resolved without further delay”.
On the other hand, the association states that the growth of direct routes between Lisbon and Faial is of “unquestionable importance and necessity”, especially in the IATa summer.

“Before the pandemic, the Lisbon-Horta route had consistently high global occupancy rates, while during high season it was regularly sold out, and with high fares. However, this route has, in recent years, been the target of negative treatment by SATA, which created a serious problem of accessibility to Faial and the so-called triangle islands (Pico, Faial and São Jorge), especially during high season. This problem has been widely denounced and continuously recognized by the majority of the parties, including those that now make up the Regional Government”.

ATSF reiterates that this situation is to be solved, considering it “an obstacle to the development of the triangle islands: "A fair, cohesive and balanced regional development will never happen without increasing the number of direct flights to these islands, especially during the summer, much less by jeopardizing the continuity of the islands' gateways. The question of the remuneration of Public Service Obligations has to be solved, for the sake of both SATA and the Region. However, this is not SATA's biggest problem”, the association points out.

The association ends by pointing out that the service provided by the Azorean air carrier "has been the cause of countless losses for the economy and the development of Faial, Pico and São Jorge", challenging the new government to take advantage of the new cycle in SATA to “keep its promises and solve the problem of accessibility to the triangle islands”.