SATA International to be privatised in 2023

The privatisation of the majority stake in airline SATA International is included in the Azores budget proposal for 2023, to which Lusa had access and which was delivered to the regional parliament on Monday.

The draft Regional Legislative Decree of the Autonomous Region of the Azores Budget for 2023 authorises the “sale of the majority of the region’s indirect stake” in SATA International – Azores Airlines, the SATA Group airline responsible for links outside the archipelago.

The “divestment of a controlling stake (51%) in Azores Airlines” is provided for in the Azorean airline’s restructuring plan approved in June by the European Commission.

The Regional Budget for 2023 stipulates that, as part of the sale of SATA International, a “special commission should be set up to monitor the respective process, which will end when it ends,” as well as the preparation of a “corruption risk prevention plan.

Through the legislative decree, the regional government is also “authorised to sell its shares in participated entities, except those in sectors considered strategic for the Autonomous Region of the Azores and of prime necessity for the population”.

In June, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid to support the restructuring of Azorean airline SATA, amounting to €453.25 million in loans and state guarantees.

The approved sum is divided into direct loans of €144.5 million and debt assumption of €173.8 million, for a total of €318.25 million to be converted into equity, and state guarantees of €135 million granted until 2028 for funding provided by banks and other financial institutions.

SATA’s financial difficulties have persisted since at least 2014 when the airline wholly owned by the Azores Regional Government began to record losses, aggravated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a massive impact on the aviation sector.