Certification of Lajes Base for civil use has "significant operational effects," says Ana Cunha
The Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works assured yesterday that the certification process for the civil use of Lajes Base "is a certification achieved after a long negotiation process" and "has significant operational effects."
Ana Cunha reminded that this "is a military base" and it "will not cease to be." However, it now "has a civil use that has to be enhanced in order to increase its operability and, consequently, bring better results for the Azores and Terceira."
Heard at the Committee on Economic Affairs of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the Secretary for Transport pointed out that, with this certification, "there was a very clear definition of the responsibilities of each of party involved, namely the Lajes Air Force and the Civil Air Terminal." In this regard, she pointed out that, "for example, an authorisation had to be requested to the military 72 hours in advance, and now the Civil Air Terminal has the power to decide by itself."
For the Regional Secretary, the "operational effects are quite significant and this is what has been achieved with the certification process that, in fact, was promised by other Governments but was it this one that has managed to succeed."
Regarding the possibility of maximising the operation of Lajes Civil Air Terminal "in order to enhance a unique infrastructure in our Region, this work has to be done in conjunction with the tourism promotion of Terceira and the Azores Destination, and this is a work in progress," said Ana Cunha.
"There have already been several approaches in terms of the possibility of transferring the operation of this airport infrastructure to an entity interested in managing and operating it for commercial purposes, instead of integrating the Lajes Civil Air Terminal into the Regional Government as it was imposed for its civilian use.
This work in progress is being carried out by the Regional Directorate for Transport," the Regional Secretary said, adding that "some contacts have been established, namely with what would be our potential partner, ANA/Vinci (Portuguese Airport Authority), in order to assess this possibility.
This “is a work that has been under development,” the government official noted, adding that, simultaneously, "we are undertaking considerable efforts to develop Terceira as a tourist destination and, accordingly, the promotion of this air infrastructure falls within the destination promotional strategy."