The Portuguese airline Sata is facing a number of problems, because in connection with subsidies granted in the past, the subsidized flight services must be put out to tender across the EU. Up to now, these have been awarded directly to Sata and its sister company Azores Airlines. In the past, direct awards were quite common. In Austria, for example, almost all subsidized rail services were awarded to ÖBB. There will be a number of changes here in the next few years, because after the subsidy contracts expire, tenders must be put out to tender across the EU. In Germany, for example, the DB has often lost out to private providers. The ÖBB itself won a tender in Bavaria with its subsidiary Allegro. The Portuguese state currently subsidizes flights between the Azores islands with around ten million euros a year. However, since 2015, no direct subsidies have been paid for the connections between the mainland and the Azores. But these have not been profitable for Sata and Azores Airlines. Quite the opposite: they incurred a loss of at least 40 million euros. Things will get tight without money from the government The corona pandemic and a decision by the EU Commission have meant that Sata has to turn every cent over several times. The continuation of the mainland connection no longer seems possible without compensation from the government. The low demand has led to a further decline in revenue. Direct awards as in the past are no longer possible. This is a real dilemma for Sata, because it still has open subsidy procedures from the past on its hands and is in a very bad position in the event of an EU-wide tender. Accordingly, it is not at all