According to the social democrat José Manuel Bolieiro, the works will be carried out by the concessionaire company ANA/Vinci and will include the creation of more arrival gates.
The governor, who was speaking to journalists at the end of a meeting with the board of the Council of São Miguel Island, in Ponta Delgada, where the matter was discussed, said that “some comfort works” are already being carried out at the João Paulo II Airport terminal and, from 2026, the interventions will include the creation of more arrival gates.
According to Bolieiro, the planned works include interventions to create more space horizontally and vertically, and next year, the company ANA/Vinci “will start expanding the airspace by around 30%”.
As an example, he indicated that the site where the ‘VIP’ lounge at Ponta Delgada airport currently operates “will become a space for more arrivals”, while on the upper floor of the terminal, there will be areas for the installation of some services and commerce.
The issue of air transport in São Miguel is included in the memorandum that the Island Council submitted to the Regional Government of the Azores and which was discussed at the meeting held at Palácio da Conceição.
São Miguel, Terceira and Faial are the three islands of the Azores that are not included in the statutory visits of the Regional Government, but the executive led by José Manuel Bolieiro began meetings with the respective boards.
In the case of the island of São Miguel, whose Island Council is chaired by Jorge Rita, a memorandum was presented to the regional executive, which was discussed and clarified today at the meeting held in Ponta Delgada.
According to Jorge Rita, the document includes topics related to air, sea and land transport, health, safety, agriculture and fishing, among others.
In relation to air transport, the document requests the Regional Government's intervention with the company ANA/Vinci “so that the airport terminal can be urgently adapted to the demand it has registered and its foreseeable growth, namely with two more permanent boarding gates”.
The body led by Jorge Rita also advocates increasing the aircraft parking area and the need to “ensure the diversification of routes and attract airlines, with special emphasis on the low season”.