This information was released by the Azorean Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), noting that the measure has already been published in the Official Gazette.

The new administrative order updates traffic, ground handling, and occupancy fees at airports and aerodromes on the islands of São Jorge, Pico, Graciosa, and Corvo, as well as at the civil air terminals of Lajes and Flores.

According to a press release issued by the Azorean executive, at aerodromes managed by SATA Gestão de Aeródromos (SGA), the update to traffic and ground handling fees amounts to 40.79%.

“However, this adjustment affects only SATA Air Açores’ operations and is not reflected in the costs borne by passengers,” the statement notes.

The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructure, emphasises that this measure is crucial for ensuring the financial and operational sustainability of regional airport infrastructure without compromising air connectivity between the islands, the competitiveness of the Azores as a destination, or its economic and tourism development.

Regarding the Lajes Civil Air Terminal on Terceira Island, there is a 2.34% update to ground handling and occupancy fees—in accordance with the Autonomous Region of the Azores’ 2026 budget, while traffic fees remain unchanged.

As for occupancy fees at aerodromes managed by SGA, the new rates will apply only to future usage licenses. Licenses currently in effect remain subject solely to the annual 2.34% update.

The newly published administrative order represents “the first structural revision of these fees in about two decades,” the Regional Secretariat notes, highlighting that “for approximately 20 years, the rates remained unchanged, gradually failing to keep pace with the rising costs associated with the operation, maintenance, modernisation, and management of airport infrastructure.”

According to Regional Secretary for Tourism Berta Cabral, as cited in the statement, “changes in economic conditions, the growth of airport activity, and heightened requirements regarding safety, maintenance, and service quality made it essential to implement a gradual, balanced, and responsible update to the fees charged, ensuring the sustainability of the infrastructure without compromising the region’s competitiveness.”

The authority further emphasises that, even after this update, the fees charged at airfields managed by SGA remain “substantially lower than those charged at Azorean airports managed by ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal, thereby preserving the appeal of regional air travel and the competitiveness of the Azores as a destination.”

The new order also introduces a mechanism for automatic annual adjustments indexed to the average consumer price index, aiming to ensure greater predictability, rate stability, and financial sustainability in the management of the region’s airport infrastructure.