Carlos César satisfied with amendments to air transport public service obligations
The President of the Azorean Government welcomed in Horta on Thursday the amendment to the air transport public service obligations concerning the flight connections between which were published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on Wednesday.
This amendment was “one of the Government’s priorities in the regulation of air transport and the new possibilities for the reduction of fares.”
Carlos César said that, with this approval, it will be possible to “carry out a fare policy with minor restrictions” and, therefore, with the reduction of air fares.
According to him, it is up to airline to “seize the potentialities” of the new framework and “establish fares with other limits, allowing them to charge lower prices” in the “competitive context” of this new reality.
The President of the Government also welcomed the maintenance of the compensation amount awarded by the Government of the Republic to support air transport in context of rigid restrictions.
“Although the measures envisaged in the State include the drastic reduction of compensation amounts awarded to various public operators, including the transport sector, this reduction does not apply to regular flight connections between the Azores and Mainland Portugal,” stated Carlos César.
The achieved amendment, which follows a proposal submitted by the Regional Government, puts an end to the minimum threshold of 120 Euros for promotional fares, which allows the implementation of promotional fares under 100 Euros for residents and regular operations.
The recently published amendments will come into force 60 days after their publication.