Tourism sector professionals in the Azores believe that the Ryanair operation confirmed for this IATA winter reveals a "dramatic" and "very sharp" reduction in the number of flights, which could result in a loss of market share for national tourists in the region.

According to the delegate of the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) in the Azores, business owners are "apprehensive about accommodation", since this is "a very sharp reduction in flights for a market that continues to have a very important share - the national market - and especially in the low season, when the national market has an even more important share".

"We think we are going to lose a very important market that we have been consolidating since 2015. This situation will have an impact throughout the winter, especially in December, January and February," said Andreia Pavão.

According to the AHP representative in the region, the concern is even greater considering it is not yet clear how SATA will be able to compensate for the reduction in Ryanair's connections between the Azores and the mainland and whether TAP will also do so. Pavão then warned of the "possible impact that all this will have on the price of air fares".

The president of the Azores Local Accommodation Association (ALA), João Pinheiro, also believes that "the reduction on Ryanair flights was rather dramatic" and claims that "there will have to be a reinforcement from the other [airline] companies to cope with this decrease in flights".

For João Pinheiro, the continuation of Ryanair's operation during the low season in the Azores is a "positive" aspect, but he regrets that the announcement by the regional Government came "too late".

"We are concerned that this announcement has come too late. Many customers who have already made their winter vacation choices have booked their vacations to destinations other than the Azores and our concern about the decrease in bookings from November onwards will continue," he stressed.

Speaking to Açoriano Oriental, the president of the AHRESP (Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal) delegation in the Azore said that "the consequences of the reduction in flights began the moment Ryanair itself announced it was leaving. Bookings stopped and some were even canceled".

Despite this, Cláudia Chaves says that, "even with the reduction in flights, we are hoping that some of the canceled reservations might be recovered. If this reduction in flights results in a reduction in visitors, of course the damage will be enormous," she warns.

For the AHRESP representative in the Azores, "we should already have another low- cost airline traveling to the Azores. It would make sense to reinforce this type of offer, because being dependent on a single airline has never been good," she points out.

Cláudia Chaves also points out that although businesspeople are not "very optimistic", "we want to believe that the drop will not be as serious as we estimate".

Ryanair plans only four flights to São Miguel and four to Terceira

From November until March 2024, the low-cost airline will operate four flights from the mainland to the island of São Miguel (two from Lisbon and two from Porto) and another four flights to the island of Terceira (two from Porto and two from Lisbon), making a total of 352 flights. In a joint statement with VisitAçores (the organization responsible for promoting the destination), the Regional Government confirmed that "Ryanair will remain in the Azores and will continue its operation to Terceira and São Miguel, with domestic and international flights, adjusting them to demand", the statement said.

The planned operation will offer 352 flights in the IATA winter, a number that will increase in the IATA summer to 1680 flights, thanks to 13 weekly Lisbon – Ponta Delgada flights; seven Oporto – Ponta Delgada connections; four Lisbon – Terceira flights; two Oporto – Terceira, as well as one Stansted (London, UK) – Ponta Delgada flight and one Nuremberg (Germany) – Ponta Delgada.