A total of 581 passengers returned home.
It was 05H37 AM when the Azores Airlines Airbus A321 landed at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon. With this last landing, it completed a set of five State charter flights, performed for the Government of Cape Verde.
The purpose of these flights? To repatriate passengers from Portugal, Cape Verde, and Brazil to their homelands due to the state of emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SATA Group, Luís Rodrigues, the Minister of Tourism and Transport of Cape Verde, Carlos Santos, has just conveyed his recognition. "On behalf of the Government of Cape Verde, I would like to thank SATA for its prompt availability and agility in responding to the government's request for repatriation of Cape Verdeans, Portuguese and Brazilians stranded in Cape Verde, Portugal, and Brazil," he said. In the same message, he expressed his gratitude for the fact that it was possible to execute the repatriation in less than 24 hours. "The operability of this flight went beyond the simple commercial relationship," stressed the Minister of Tourism and Transport.
Over the past week, Azores Airlines has made it a priority to repatriate Azoreans living in the diaspora and tourists who were visiting the Azores, and who needed to anticipate their return. It was also a priority to readjust the inter-island operation of the Azores to respond to the new reality that presents itself at every moment.
These operations were carried out in compliance with specific operational procedures, which ensure the mitigation of the risks of exposure to COVID 19, both with the teams working in the field and with the passengers to be transported.
"In coordination with government entities and close cooperation with the Regional Health Authority, the last few weeks have been dedicated to the reorganization of the entire air operation, with special emphasis on the conversion of Dash Q200 aircraft into a Combi version to meet the cargo transport needs we face," explains Mário Chaves, Chief Operations & Commercial Officer of SATA Group, who is in charge of the operational and commercial areas of SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines.
In addition to the conversion work carried out in record time in a Dash Q200 by SATA Air Açores' Engineering and Maintenance teams, and once all the passengers who had been retained in the destinations usually operated by SATA Group carriers had been repatriated, it was also possible to access a special request from the State of Cape Verde and operate this mission of repatriation of citizens of Portuguese, Cape Verdean and Brazilian nationality.
This last repatriation mission started with the first connection on March 23, between Lisbon and São Vicente Island and ended with the last flight, Sal-Lisbon, that left at 01h05 AM and arrived in the Portuguese capital at 05h37 AM on March 25, repatriating a total of 326 passengers, including 128 passengers of Portuguese nationality, who are already back home.
It was the third air repatriation operation requested by the Azorean airline. "These operations and the response that has been offered to customers and partners have only been possible thanks to the excellence of professional performance and the fact that we find within the SATA Group companies exceptional human beings with a high mission spirit," explains Mário Chaves.
According to him, SATA Group companies will continue to make every effort to continue helping clients, partners, and institutions in the best possible way, with the resilience required of those who seek to cooperate actively in the collective effort that will allow overcoming a moment that is difficult for everyone.
Azores Airlines has ensured, together with SATA Air Açores, the daily transport of urgent and priority air cargo, between mainland Portugal and the Azores, and between the nine islands of the Archipelago.