Government hopes to soon operationalise new mobility subsidy rules

The Government of the Republic hopes to operationalise the new rules of the Social Mobility Subsidy “soon” and reiterated that it intends to make available “this year” the platform that will allow reimbursement to passengers from the autonomous regions, it was revealed today.

In a written response to the Lusa news agency, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing did not provide a deadline for the reduction in the value of the social mobility subsidy to come into effect, adding that the new support regime is in the “legislative circuit”.

“The diploma that will allow improving the rules of the social mobility subsidy is in the legislative circuit and its approval and operationalization is expected soon”, reads the response.

The Government of the Republic reiterates that a platform will be created that will allow the refund of the ticket price immediately after purchasing the flight.

When asked about the implementation of the platform, the ministry led by Miguel Pinto Luz noted that it will be “this year”.

“As announced in a September statement, the new platform will allow eligibility data to be saved and the cost of the trip to be refunded immediately after purchasing the flight and will be available this year,” the ministry stressed.

In November last year, the Minister of Infrastructure admitted, in parliament, that the electronic platform for reimbursement of the social mobility subsidy on connections between the islands and the mainland should be operational “in June 2025”.

In October 2024, the PSD president and prime minister announced that the maximum air fare provided for in the social mobility subsidy for connections between the Azores and the mainland will drop to 119 euros.

It was later announced that Madeira would also be covered by a 10% reduction in the maximum air fare provided for in the subsidy.

Previously, in September, the decision by the Government of the Republic to impose a maximum ceiling of 600 euros for reimbursements for air travel to the mainland caused controversy in the Azores — until then, residents were reimbursed for the entire amount above 134 euros, regardless of the sale price of the ticket.

With the change introduced, if the sale price of the trip is higher than 600 euros, the passenger must bear the amount above that limit, in addition to the 134 euros.

The creation of an online platform to speed up the payment of the Social Mobility Allowance for the autonomous regions was announced by the Government of the Republic on September 26, 2024.

“The government team will now initiate the process of regulating this new mechanism and building the new electronic platform, with a view to making the new access rules available as quickly as possible,” the executive said in a statement.

From Diário Notícias