SATA wants to be compensated by IPMA

SATA Air Açores will go to court to seek compensation for losses after being prevented from flying to several Azorean islands on Friday due to the strike by workers at the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere.

In a statement sent this Saturday to the Lusa news agency, the Azorean airline said that the strike by workers at the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) forced the cancellation of 42 flights on Friday, “affecting around three thousand people”.

"The SATA group's management will take legal action to recover damages caused by this strike and the failure to meet minimum service requirements," the company said.

The cancellation of several flight connections "severely compromised the mobility of Azoreans." "Access to essential services, including healthcare, was hampered, and basic public service obligations were violated," he said.

According to the note, on August 8, “the presidency of IPMA confirmed to the management of the SATA group that compliance with minimum services was safeguarded, but this did not happen.”

"The situation is particularly serious not only because of the non-compliance, but also because it prevented the company from adopting adequate preventive measures, given that the IPMA did not inform in a timely manner that the minimum services would not be effectively met," he said.

SATA Air Açores (responsible for inter-island flights) said it is “making every effort to restore normal operations today [Saturday], with several extraordinary flights scheduled to minimize the impact on passengers.”