André Kosters / Lusa
The helicopter operator has filed a lawsuit asking the court to declare the debts it owes to the public bank as time-barred.
Heliportugal, the company that operates the State’s three light helicopters, took legal action against Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), accusing the public bank of having allowed to prescribe debts which total more than 29 million euros. The case was filed around three weeks ago at the Lisbon Central Civil Court.
In the action, Heliportugal asks the court to declare several credits claimed by CGD time-barred, largely related to financing the purchase of eight helicopters.
According to the company, non-compliances occurred between 2018 and 2020dates that were recognized by CGD itself in the insolvency process it initiated against Heliportugal in March this year. The company maintains that, despite the credits being in default for several years, the public bank never took executive action against the company, thus allowing the legal statute of limitations to run out.
Heliportugal argues that the applicable limitation period is five years, meaning that most debts would be prescribed since 2023 and the last since March 2024. The only collection action identified was initiated only in 2024 and was directed exclusively against guarantors, and not against the company, in an attempt to avoid the definitive loss of credits.
In response to , the CGD rejected the accusationsstating that it took all the steps it considered necessary and that it remains committed to recovering the credits granted.
The dispute takes place in a delicate financial context for Heliportugal, after CGD and one of the shareholders had voted against the revitalization plan presented within the scope of the Special Revitalization Process (PER). The company is now controlled by a Brazilian businessman, Ricardo Caetano, following the purchase of a debt from Novo Banco that was associated with the pledge of the company’s shares.
Heliportugal maintains that the weight of the credits claimed by CGD gave the bank a decisive voting right in the PER, making approval of the plan unfeasible and compromising the company’s economic viability.
Despite the difficulties, the company was recently notified that it had won a public tender for the rental of five light helicopters during the fire seasons from 2026 to 2028, in a contract valued at 8.5 million euros. Even so, its activity remains limited due to the suspension of several licenses by the National Civil Aviation Authority.
