The company said, in a statement sent to Lusa, that the group's airlines (SATA Air Açores, which provides connections between the nine islands of the Azores, and Azores Airlines, with connections to and from the Azores archipelago) achieved in 2023 the historic mark of "two million passengers transported in one year".

"This is a historic moment for the SATA Group, representing a 27% growth in the number of passengers transported, when compared to the same period in 2022", says the Azorean airline, adding that both SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines "have recorded extraordinary post-pandemic growth".

In 2022, "they had already presented a performance, in terms of passengers transported, of +12.1% versus 2019 (pre-pandemic year), well above that recorded in Europe (-26.4%) and the rest of the world ( -28.5%), according to data from ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation)", highlights the company, in the press release.

According to the source, "a set of operational and commercial initiatives" by the company contributed to this consistent increase in demand.

Among these operational and commercial measures, SATA highlights "the increase in flights and diversity of destinations offered", the promotional actions throughout the year with tour operators and travel agents, "the expansion of virtual 'interline' agreements with partners flights" and "greater availability of online offers, through a presence in global travel search engines".

The company also assures that the outlook for the group "continues to be very positive, with continued high demand and increased revenue in very relevant markets".