The Government of the Azores postponed the privatization of SATA until August 2027 and estimated a cost of EUR 350 to 400 million, according to the Secretary of Finance, Duarte Freitas.
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12/11/2026
by
Lusa
O Government of the Azores today estimated a financial burden of EUR 350 to 400 million with privatisations in SATA and revealed that it asked the European Commission to postpone proceedings until August 2027.
In an interview with RTP Antena 1/Azores, the Secretary of Finance, Planning and Public Administration revealed that the Regional Government “has noted the developments” of the privatisation of Azores Airlines and SATA Handling to the European Commission and confirmed that a further postponement has already been requested for the completion of the proceedings.
“ We made the notification to have six or eight months more to be able to close the process ", said Duarte Freitas, confirming that sales should be completed by the end of August 2027.
To justify the request for postponement, the regional secretary reiterated that there are “factors that are not completely in the field” of the Government of the Azores, such as the opinions of the National Civil Aviation Authority and the Competition Authority.
On Friday, the Azores Government had already admitted that the completion of the privatisations of Azores Airlines (flying from the region to the outside) and SATA Handling “could slide to the beginning of 2027” and that the request for postponement had already been made to the European Commission, without, however, detailing deadlines.
Today, in the interview with the regional public radio, Duarte Freitas advanced that privatizations should cost about 350 to 400 million euros in case of compliance with the restructuring plan.
“Haking up [the Restructuring Plan] as we hope, you may have to park at SATA Holding, where the debt will be, anything like 350 to 400 million euros,” he said.
The regional secretary said that this debt could be amortised with the “benefits of the divestments” and the future profitability of SATA Air Azores (flying interludes).
“ In the expectation that SATA Air Azores, which is already lean and effective, will provide profitability and that our share in Azores Airlines can contribute some ‘cash-flow’ [liquidity], this will be money that can amortize this debt that is in SATA Holding”.
Duarte Freitas admitted that the amount that cannot be reduced from EUR 350 to EUR 400 million “may come in time for the perimeter” of the region’s debt.
The regional secretary reiterated that the failure to comply with the restructuring plan would involve a return of EUR 450 to 600 million, an amount that would “bring down the SATA group”.
“We can’t even think about doing this,” he insisted.
When questioned, the holder of the finance portfolio of the Government of the Azores did not want to predict the expected fit with privatizations and argued that Azores Airlines “needs muscle”, because “in the size it has it is very difficult to survive”.
“[The privatisation of Azores Airlines] is a matter that is being managed by the SATA Board of Directors. I have not even tried to know which entities are and what details, because I think it is preferable to treat matters in commercial secrecy ", reinforced.
The deadline for the sale of Azores Airlines was initially set for the end of 2025, according to the restructuring approved by the European Commission, which approved a postponement until the end of 2026 after a request from the Regional Government.
The SATA administration invited five competitors to privatise Azores Airlines to submit binding proposals by 9 December, when candidates will be disclosed, according to the aviation group administration.