The company responsible for the regional air connection between Bragança and Portimão announced on Monday that it is “prevented from making flights” because of restrictions imposed by the Cascais Municipal Aerodrome, due to the lack of payment of an alleged debt.
“Due to restrictions imposed by the Cascais Municipal Aerodrome, we are now prevented from making flights,” the operator wrote in a statement.
In the statement, the company regretted the situation and states to develop “all efforts to resume normal operations.”
At issue is a different about a supposed debt of ‘handling’ rates of 107,000 euros plus VAT (or a debt of 132,471.95 euros, according to the municipality) that the Cascais Chamber, through the Municipal Company Cascamic, the Cascais Municipal Aerodrome Manager, requires, but that the company considers it to pay.
Due to the lack of payment of this alleged debt, an airplane from the Trás-os-Montes/Algarve area (which connects Bragança, Vila Real, Viseu, Cascais and Portimão), originally in Bragança and destination to Portimão, was retained Monday at the Tires Aerodrome, in Cascais.
The retention of the Sevenair in Tires plane is due to, according to the Municipal Company Cascais Dynamic, the aerodrome manager, to the lack of payments, repeatedly, by the group that operates the area area Trás-os-Montes/Algarve, so “the services of three of the six companies that operate in the Cascais Aerodrome are suspended.
In a statement sent to the Lusa Agency, Sevenair said it considers it to the municipal company the “alleged handling tax debt” of 107,700 euros, plus VAT, and revealed to have required Cascais dynamic “clarification” of this rate, applied since 2022 in regular air operation.
“This administrative rate, applied to scale assistance service providers, was, in our interpretation, incorrectly applied to Severnair,” the company said.
In response, the municipality argued that several attempts were made of collection, and the Sevenair admitted, in an email of December 30, 2024, to settle the amounts in debt in three successive monthly installments, but only the first installment was met on December 31, 2024.
“After several contacts from our employee, in an attempt to receive the 2nd Tronche, unsuccessfully, on February 19, 2025 there were new interpeairs to the companies of the Sevenair Group, regarding the debt, and with immediate settlement in the face of non-compliance with agreement, informing that they had the default, the services would be suspended,” said the autarchy.
Cascais Dynamics also considered that “before companies due by companies”, it has the legal right to “suspend services and retention of assets, including aircraft, to pay such amounts” and ensured that “as soon as Severnair complies with its responsibilities, the suspension will be raised”.
In the statement, Sevenair admitted that it has faced financial difficulties “arising from payment delays by the Portuguese Government”, and said that “it will continue to work with the competent authorities to resolve this impasse and ensure the continuity of services provided to the Portuguese population”.
In a brief note, without adding details, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Hugo Espírito Santo, said on Monday he was following the development of the difference between the Cascais Chamber and A, “no reason to suspend the regional air connection.
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