SATA handling unions announce strike periods over privatisation
Azores GuideSITAVA and SINTAC say they intend to hold several strike periods over the Regional Government's account of the SATA Handling privatisation.
On 29 September, SITAVA and SINTAC said they had joined the Regional Government working group in good faith. The unions said they were repeatedly told that the total sale of the company was a non-negotiable European Commission requirement for the group's viability.
The unions said documentary evidence now contradicts the Azorean executive's position. They said they intend to move soon to several strike periods to defend the regional airline's integrity and challenge the Regional Government's version of the privatisation.
The unions said the European Commission had clarified in writing that the sale of ground handling resulted from a proposal by the shareholder and an exclusive decision of the Portuguese authorities, not an imposition from Brussels. They said keeping SATA Air Açores as a Service of General Economic Interest while handing handling to a private operator would create a problematic dependency for inter-island transport, which is subject to territorial-continuity obligations.
The unions said SATA Air Açores could become a captive customer of a private operator able to increase turnaround fees, particularly amid constant weather irregularity affecting air operations in the archipelago. They said that, with dialogue mechanisms exhausted and handling not classified as a Service of General Economic Interest, they saw no alternative to strike action.
On 26 September, SATA said 11 entities met the participation requirements for the SATA Handling privatisation and had been invited to submit non-binding offers by 21 October. SATA said selected entities would then be invited to submit binding offers as the operation continued.
Update — 2026-09-30
On 28 January, SATA said it expected to formalise the separation of its ground-handling operations in March by creating a new company and begin the privatisation process for the service.
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Azores Guide
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