The Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works assured today that the fire that hit the cargo area of Graciosa Aerodrome last Sunday did not affect the operating conditions of this airport infrastructure. 

Speaking to journalists, Ana Cunha said "the aerodrome's operating conditions were not affected, not even in terms of cargo transport; therefore, we will continue to operate and that is what really matters." 

The Secretary for Transport stated that the “assessment of damages” is currently under way, considering that it is “still premature to rule out the cause of the fire." 

"The insurance company will send experts to the island to determine the cause of the fire, and for that reason, it is still premature to speculate on the cause of the fire," stressed the government official. 

SATA will transport a technical team to Graciosa today so that they may carry out a more detailed assessment on the conditions of the facilities affected by the fire. 

The Regional Secretary added that, following the fire alert, after 8 pm, she was always “aware of the situation, either in close contact with the Mayor or with the Public Works Delegate, or, later, with the Fire Chief." After the fire was controlled," what we saw, still in a very preliminary phase, is that a significant part of the equipment that was in the cargo area was saved, including vehicles, ground support equipment and the cargo security x-ray machine." 

Now, it will be necessary to assess the conditions of the building's roof "in structural terms, for the stabilisation of the cargo area," Ana Cunha said, adding that "the passenger area remained intact." 

"In order to reach the fire, firefighters had to destroy some access doors, a situation that does not render the operation of the aerodrome unfeasible," said the government official.

The Regional Secretary also mentioned that there was no record of fire victims. 

"We are aware that there was a member of the fire brigade who probably inhaled smoke but his condition is already stable, and we wish him a speedy recovery," said the government official. 

Ana Cunha revealed that there was "privately-owned cargo inside the warehouse but nothing very significant," adding that "the insurance will cover the losses of that cargo." 

The Regional Secretary also informed that the redevelopment works of Graciosa Aerodrome "will maintain the schedule initially defined for the launch of the contract work procedures and the completion period."