Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal, June 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The CEO of the Portuguese SATA Group on Friday justified the constraints on the operation of the Azorean airline due to maintenance difficulties on the part of aircraft manufacturers and the consequences of operating aircraft on islands.
“Not even the actual manufacturer of the aircraft knew well which parts would be necessary. Afterwards, we have another condition that we find in both fleets, which is the fact that we operate a lot in a saline environment and we find a lot of corrosion when the aircraft are inspected”, explained Rui Coutinho, at the Regional parliament economy commission meeting in Ponta Delgada.
Rui Coutinho was responding to MPs from the Chega parliamentary group, who had requested the presence of SATA’s CEO at the Economy Committee to explain why there are planes grounded, waiting for parts, and flights constantly delayed, which are causing problems for the Azoreans and complicating life for businesspeople.
“We are enduring the same problems that the major airlines feel,” said the president of SATA, referring to delays in the delivery of engines and various other parts by suppliers and manufacturers, giving as an example a Sata Air Açores aircraft that has been “grounded”, for more than nine months, in maintenance”.
During the parliamentary hearing, Rui Coutinho also lamented that the new A320 and A321 NEO are more demanding in terms of maintenance than the company’s older aircraft, a situation that is increasing the company’s expenses.
“The 320 and the 321, all that is NEO, has been a flop, because of the jet engine systems,” lamented the SATA Group CEO, adding that the engines, which used to be overhauled after 20 years, now have to undergo maintenance after only seven years.
Despite this, according to SATA’s own figures, there were fewer cancellations and delays in the first months of this year than in the same period last year, and the IATA summer is expected to be less problematic than in 2024.
“This summer will be good because we already have an additional aircraft. Last year, we had a day when only three aircraft were operating,” recalled Rui Coutinho, adding that during June, the company operated an average of seven aircraft, and from July there will be “eight aircraft available”.
The CEO of SATA also spoke about the update of the SATA handling company prices, a structure which, he explained, showed losses of around €1 million in 2024 due to the failure to update tariffs, which had not been changed since 2000, allegedly due to “interference” from previous regional governments.
“SATA has served as a cash cow for the economic and business fabric of the Azores for many years, and this cannot continue,” warned the Azorean airline’s CEO, adding that “if this is the case, there must be compensation or a public service obligation”.
He also criticised the successive interference of political parties in the life of the regional carrier, which he considers to be the target of criticism, accusations and close scrutiny, and recalled that “those who don’t interfere, already give a hand”.
RF/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
