The Chamber of Commerce of Angra do Heroísmo has criticised the election of the Madeiran executive as the new president of SATA. The fact that Rui Coutinho worked at VINCI makes him less impartial, they say.
The Chamber of Commerce of Angra do Heroísmo (CCAH), in the Azores, considered on Monday the appointment of the former regional director of Air Transport Rui Coutinho as president of SATA “a political decision” and “a mortal wound”.
“At a time when our airline needed assertive, decisive, solid and technically credible leadership, we were all surprised by the opposite. A political decision, technically unknown and fatally wounded in terms of credibility in the exercise of his function, considering that the candidate is an employee of the VINCI group, a company that manages some regional and national airports,” reads a statement.
The Business Association of the Terceira, Graciosa and São Jorge Islands highlights that “It is not the suitability of the person appointed that is at stake,” but rather “the profile for the position,” since “the duty of impartiality is violated, precisely because he is an employee of VINCI.”.
The CCAH says it received the name of the new president of the Azores public airline with “perplexity” and “disappointment”, after the company “has been adrift in recent months”.
According to the association, this appointment represents “a technical and civilisational setback of 10 years”, taking the company “back to the times when disastrous decisions like this one” led to the current “agonising” situation.
As he performs his duties “in a position in which he has a fixed-term contract”, he adds, the new president of SATA “will only please his true and only boss (VINCI)”, who “was already visible in his performance as regional director”.
The CCAH points out that Rui Coutinho did not take “a single decision other than to deepen the inequalities between the islands of the Azores”, particularly in terms of maritime and air transport.
On the other hand, he considers the appointment of a “strategic council” worrying and states that it is “a stripping of responsibilities on the part of the guardianship”, since “it does not contribute anything and only makes noise, being just another voice”. talk”. about topics that you don’t know about, about issues that should be discussed internally by professionals in the sector.”
Despite the concerns expressed, the CCAH believes in the resilience of SATA professionals and in the recovery capacity of the Azores airline, with a privatization process carried out in a transparent and realistic manner.
“With determination, common sense and transparent and respectable management, we are confident that the SATA Group will be able to overcome current challenges and prosper in the near future,” he highlights.
The Angra Chamber of Commerce welcomes “the stoic and selfless way” with which the team led by José Roque “kept the SATA Group running, while a new president was not appointed.”
The Azores government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) revealed on Friday that former regional director of Air and Maritime Transport Rui Coutinho, who was also regional director of Mobility, will be the new president of the airline.
Former regional director of Air Transport Rui Coutinho will be the new president of SATA
At a press conference, the regional secretary of Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure, Berta Cabral, recalled that Rui Coutinho also served as head of the Airport Operations department of the Ponta Delgada airport, director of the Santa María airport and head of the Planning Department , Management and Control. of the Azores Airports Directorate, under the direction of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, “having coordinated the areas of planning and management control, investments, marketing, licenses, environment and information systems.”
According to Berta Cabral, the new manager’s priority will be “strict compliance with the Restructuring Plan approved by the European Commission.”
The future president will occupy the position left vacant by Teresa Gonçalves, who resigned on April 9 for “personal reasons”, according to the Azores executive.
Source: Observadora
