Summer and winter flights between Bermuda and the Azores have been secured by a travel agent close to six months after Sata Azores Airlines discontinued its year-round service, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Luisa Gonçalves Da Ponte, who arranged the two schedules with the support of her employer, Trip.bm, said there will be four round-trip flights through the airline between LF Wade International Airport and Ponta Delgada Airport in July, August and September with another four in December and January.

Now that connections have been made with Sata’s leadership as well as representatives of the Azorean Government, she hopes to be able to continue the flights next year and beyond.

She said yesterday: “It took a lot of sweat and tears but today I got confirmation.

“I had meetings in the Azores in January with Sata Azores Airlines and with the Azorean Government, and they told me it was already quite late, I should have done it last year as it takes a year to get it confirmed.

“They said let’s see what we can do, and from then, I’ve been talking to people but not been able to get anywhere.”

Ms Gonçalves Da Ponte said she grew concerned that the flights would not materialise and called on the assistance of Richard Ambrosio in his capacity as the Bermuda representative for the Azorean Diaspora Council representing Azoreans in the archipelago and worldwide.

Mr Ambrosio said: “Time was of the essence — the closer we get to the summer, the less viable the service becomes.

“Luisa asked me if I could reach out to some of my contacts.

“First, we went to the regional director for communities for the Azorean Government, José Andrade. He helped to advocate for us behind the scenes.

“We also reached out to a friend of mine, an Azorean lawyer Judith Todoro. She made the initial contact with Rui Coutinho, the chief executive of Sata Azores Airlines, and from that point on, I sent him an e-mail, cc’d Luisa and then they exchanged contacts.”

Ms Gonçalves Da Ponte added: “After that, it was a battle for Sata Azores Airlines and they worked really hard for it to happen.

“It’s a victory for Bermuda and the Azores and I want to thank Sata Azores Airlines and the team.

“I’m working on more for next year and hopefully after that. It's not the end of it.”

Sata Azores Airlines launched in Bermuda in 2021, with water cannon showering the first aircraft to land at LF Wade International Airport on June 13.

However, in January, it announced that the route would be discontinued, telling The Royal Gazette it had reached the decision after considering factors including “economic rationality”.

The company said then: “As part of its plan to prepare for the IATA [International Air Transport Association] summer 2025, [Sata] Azores Airlines has made the decision to discontinue certain routes operated by ACMI flights [aircraft rental with crew, maintenance and insurance included] and others that have no prospect of economic improvement.”

Other discontinued direct flights included routes between Oporto and Funchal to the US and Canada.

The transport ministry said at the time it shared the disappointment of many residents and visitors of Bermuda, saying it had worked “tirelessly” along with the Bermuda and Azores governments to make a direct flight a reality.

It said it would engage in further discussions with Sata Azores Airlines and Skyport, the airport operator in Bermuda.

Mr Ambrosio said that the lack of a connection was “disappointing”, not least for Azoreans in Bermuda who had to use other routes to get there, such as flying through America, to visit family in the autonomous region of Portugal located in the mid-Atlantic.

He said: “It added a bigger distance between our two island communities. Having the connection brought us closer together.

"Now we have this charter, it means Bermuda residents of Azorean descent can go and visit family and friends, and a lot of Bermudians have been travelling to Azores on vacation.

“There are a number of individuals looking to buy property or invest in the Azores and having regular air connections is key to that effort.”

Ms Gonçalves Da Ponte said that one of the reasons the flight was not economically viable was there were too many flights in the schedule — the flights ran weekly through the year.

The round-trip charter flights through Trip.bm depart from and return to Ponta Delgada on July 27, August 3 and August 17, September 7 and the winter flights following the same route are on December 8, December 15, January 12 and January 19.

Each flight can accommodate 183 passengers and flights are in the region of $1,950 for a round trip and $1,200 one-way owing to the last-minute nature of the booking.

Ms Gonçalves Da Ponte said she hopes to see the price drop in subsequent years to closer to $1,600 for a round trip.

Sata Azores Airlines flights had previously ranged from $600 up to $2,000.

Ms Gonçalves Da Ponte said: “I’d like to thank everyone including Leila Wilson at Trip.bm, who allowed me to follow my dream of helping my community, and those who waited [for] and trusted me. I didn’t sleep last night.

“Without the community we can’t do this. If I don’t have the support of the community, Portuguese and any other nationality, it can’t work.”

Neither Skyport nor the Government responded to questions by press time.

• All tickets and reservations are arranged through Trip.bm and can be secured by e-mailing luisa@trip.bm, stephaniep@moneyshop.bm or leila@trip.bm, or by calling 292-8747

• UPDATE: this story has been updated to amend the scheduled flight dates