The Atlantic Connect Group (ACG) consortium considered this Monday, 2nd, that the privatization process of Azores Airlines “never had a true intention of completion”, criticizing the actions of the SATA administration and the Regional Government of the Azores.
“The Atlantic Connect Group considers that, with or without the release of the report, the outcome of the privatization of Azores Airlines reveals a reality that can no longer be ignored: workers and investors participated in a process that never had any true intention of concluding,” said the consortium in a statement.
The group of companies maintained that, over three years, it structured “a demanding proposal, adjusted to the financial reality” of the Azorean airline and “opened channels of dialogue with pilots and crew”, adding that the company’s situation and its future were discussed with “realism”, without promises of “easy solutions”, with the workers responding with “responsibility, autonomy and maturity, by concluding employment stability agreements” and agreements with unions, but which were “simply ignored” by the jury of the procedure.
For the consortium, “by rejecting the Atlantic Connect Group’s proposal, SATA’s board of directors chose to maintain problems that are structural and that precede this process” of privatization”, namely “the non-separation of Shared Services, despite the obligations arising from the European Commission’s decision, the significant increase in the number of workers between 2022 and 2025 without strengthening the fleet and the attempt to impose on the buyer the definitive assumption of obligations” which, according to the specifications, should be adjusted in a period of transition.
The ACG also accused the management of Azores Airlines of having “drastically” worsened the company’s situation in the last three years and of having been “incapable” of carrying out the effective separation of the SATA group companies, adding that there continue to be workers with employment contracts at Azores Airlines who perform functions in other companies in the group, including at management level.
“It is legitimate to ask whether everyone was truly committed to the same objective. While the Atlantic Connect Group negotiated solutions and assumed responsibilities at the table with workers, other scenarios began to be prepared behind the scenes and presented in the public space, anticipating the failure of privatization – even before it was formally closed (which has not yet happened!)”, he pointed out.
The consortium also criticized the Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) and the SATA administration, arguing that “they cannot treat workers as a secondary variable in a political strategy”.
According to the ACG, workers “were called upon to make commitments that ultimately turned out to be irrelevant to those who decided”.
The consortium also warns if the Regional Government and SATA management “do not clearly accept the consequences of this outcome”, investors and workers “will have legitimate reasons to feel like extras” and “conclude that they participated in a process whose outcome was previously defined”.
On November 24, 2025, ACG presented a proposal of 17 million euros for 85% of the share capital of Azores Airlines.
On January 28, the Azores Airlines privatization jury announced that it would propose the rejection of the consortium’s proposal admitted to the competition, as it understood that it did not “safeguard the interests” of SATA and the region.
After the consortium’s objection, the jury prepared the final report and sent it to SATA’s board of directors.
On Friday, the Atlantic Connect Group expressed “deep concern” about the final phase of the privatization of Azores Airlines.
Also on Friday, the SATA administration, in a note sent to Lusa, announced that it will propose to the Government of the Azores that the privatization process of Azores Airlines “be closed without award” to the only consortium admitted, for reasons of “public interest”.
In June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid to support the airline’s restructuring of 453.25 million euros in loans and state guarantees, providing for measures such as a reorganization of the structure and the divestment of a controlling stake (51%).
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