Eduardo Jesus recalls the “constant struggle” of the last 10 years to achieve “balance,” which now “could be destroyed” with the new Social Mobility Subsidy.
It appears that the island communities are currently experiencing significant challenges. There is a perception that current efforts are not yielding effective results, and progress is not being adequately achieved.
The Regional Government of Madeira, through the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture, views with “great concern” the possibility that the main air carriers that provide connections between the mainland and the autonomous regions will abandon the routes covered by the Social Mobility Subsidy.
In response to the headline news in the print edition of DIÁRIO this Wednesday, April 8th, Eduardo Jesus warns of a possible setback in accessibility in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, at a time when it is experiencing “the best moment ever, with the growth of economic activity, employment, business activity, debt reduction, wage increases, and so on.”
The issue at hand is that airlines are threatening to abandon island routes in light of the legislative changes to the Social Mobility Subsidy currently under discussion in the Assembly of the Republic. According to the airlines, the changes to the model, particularly the elimination of the maximum eligible reimbursement limit, “could significantly alter the functioning of the market,” jeopardizing the stability of air connectivity in Madeira and the Azores.
Eduardo Jesus believes that the situation is the result of “enormous irresponsibility and reflects unpreparedness, lack of vision and ignorance of the regional reality” on the part of those who presented the legislative changes.
The governor points to the “constant struggle” of the last 10 years to achieve “balance,” which now “could be destroyed” with the new Social Mobility Subsidy, since the new model would have a “significant” impact on the tourism sector, which could “compromise the economic trajectory that Madeira is currently experiencing.”