SATA Air Açores takes out a €20 million loan

The airline SATA Air Açores will take out a 20 million euro loan to support its treasury through a guarantee granted by the Regional Government, it was published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette.

According to the order, the Secretariat of Finance, Planning and Public Administration of the Azores “approves the conditions of the technical file of the guarantee granted” to the airline, which “initiated the necessary steps to contract a loan” of 20 million euros.

“The granting of a guarantee by the region in relation to the aforementioned operation is a necessary condition for its implementation,” the document reads.

The loan has a duration of seven years (with a two-year grace period) and an interest rate equivalent to the six-month Euribor plus a spread of 1.00%, according to the technical sheet.

Among the conditions for the operation, contracted with the BPI bank, is the maintenance of “full participation, direct or indirect, in the capital of SATA Air Açores by the Regional Government of the Azores”.

The Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) bases its decision on the resolution of the Regional Government Council of July 2025, which authorized the “granting of guarantees on loans from banks or other financial institutions” to SATA Air Açores in the amount of 75 million euros.

In June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid to support the airline's restructuring of €453.25 million in loans and state guarantees, providing for measures such as a reorganization of the structure and the divestment of a controlling stake (51%).

Negotiations are currently underway between the Regional Government and the Newtou/MS Aviation consortium for the privatization of Azores Airlines, a process that the regional government said it wants to complete by September.

The two airlines in the SATA group, Azores Airlines and SATA Air Açores, closed 2024 with an accumulated loss of 82.8 million euros , more than double the previous year, according to data released by the company in June.

Last year, SATA Internacional — Azores Airlines (which operates to and from the archipelago) recorded a negative net result of 71.2 million euros, which compares with a loss of 26.08 million euros in 2023.

SATA Air Açores (responsible for inter-island connections) reported a negative net result of 11.6 million euros in 2024, compared to a loss of 9.97 million euros in the previous year.

The accumulated losses of the two companies totaled 82.8 million euros last year, more than double the 36 million reported in 2023.

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