These reactions come after statements by the Secretary of Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure of the Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), Berta Cabral, who said, on Monday, that the expansion of the runway at Pico airport by another 700 metres would cause more “obstacles” than those that currently exist, according to a study on the increase in infrastructure.

“The study has already been delivered. There are three large volumes, but basically, it says the following: the expansion of the runway, as proposed, will encounter greater obstacles than those it faces today. Therefore, there is no point in increasing the runway for the intention that was part of the study”, Berta Cabral told the media on the sidelines of a meeting with the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, in Ponta Delgada, adding that the Regional Government will “ask for a complementary study” to “rigorously understand” the possibilities of expanding the runway at Pico airport.

“I am not taking any position, because that position will be taken politically after properly evaluating the alternatives. If it is to change the runway alignment and make a change to the runway, we are talking about very high investments,” she added.

In a statement, the Pico Airport Group (GAPix) says it was "surprised by the summary of the conclusions expressed" by the government official, claiming that they were released "without public knowledge and in full the results of the previous study" for the expansion of the runway from the airport of that island in the Central group.

"Nevertheless, there appears to be some inconsistency between these statements by the Secretary and the previous preliminary study and the opinion of the SATA Group to the Regional Legislative Assembly (Economic Commission, October 15, 2021) regarding the possibility of expanding the runway by 700 meters ", reads the press release.

The PS/Açores sent a request to the Azorean parliament, signed by the two socialist deputies elected from the island of Pico, Mário Tomé and Marta Matos, in which they asked the Azorean executive for explanations about “what are the Government's guidelines and the new assumptions underlying the request new complementary study”.

“We, at this moment, do not know the study, only the statements made by the regional secretary of Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructure, Berta Cabral, who said it was an extensive study, but which points out, according to her words, (…) 'no It wouldn't do any good to increase the runway'. We want to have access to this study, so that we can also judge whether, in fact, this is really the case”, explains Mário Tomé, quoted in a press release.

The socialist deputy highlights "the increasingly important role" of Pico airport "in the socioeconomic context of the mountain island", recording a "progressive growth in terms of passengers handled in recent years, in line with the high and growing demand for Pico in tourist terms”.