Ponta do Sol, Madeira Island, Portugal, Jan.23, 2026 (Lusa) - The Regional Committee of the centrist CDS-PP on the Portuguese Island of Madeira has rejected the changes to flight allowance subsidies, considering that it introduced "discriminatory bureaucracy" and gave party members freedom to vote in the second round of the presidential elections on 8 February.
"The Regional Committee of the CDS/Madeira expresses its firm rejection of the changes to the Mobility Subsidy, which are very detrimental to the rights of the people of Madeira and Porto Santo Islands," reads the statement of conclusions from the meeting of this Madeiran centrist body, which took place in the district of Ponta do Sol, in the western part of the island of Madeira on Thursday evening.
In the document, the councillors of the CDS-PP/Madeira - the party that is part of the coalition governing this autonomous region - say that "instead of making things easier, the mainland government has complicated the lives of Portuguese citizens in Madeira and the Azores by introducing discriminatory bureaucracy and forcing citizens to pay higher prices for travel to and from the mainland."
This party insists that residents of Madeira should pay only €79 and students €59 when purchasing air tickets to the mainland.
"Only in this way can the principle of territorial continuity and the rights of Portuguese citizens in the autonomous regions, as enshrined in the Constitution, be fully respected," stresses the CDS-PP/Madeira.
This party reaffirms that "the costs of insularity are costs of sovereignty and must be borne by the entire country and argues that the future Head of State must have a strong commitment to the rights of Portuguese citizens in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira".
Created in 2015, the social mobility subsidy guarantees air tickets between Madeira and the mainland (return) at €79 for residents and €59 for students, but requires payment of the full ticket price, up to a maximum of €400, an amount that is sometimes exceeded by airlines, with reimbursement being processed after the trip.
In the case of the Azores, the maximum amount paid is €119 for residents of the archipelago and €89 for students, with a limit of €600 on the eligible cost of the ticket and it is also necessary to pay the full amount at the time of purchase.
The new social mobility subsidy scheme, which came into force on 6 January, requires applicants to have no outstanding tax or social security debts in order to access the mobility subsidy, a rule that has since been suspended until 31 January.
At this meeting, the Regional Committee of the CDS-PP/Madeira also decided to give its members freedom to vote in the second round of the presidential elections, as was done in the first round held last Sunday.
"For 8 February, there will be no voting guidelines and each CDS member is free, on a personal basis, to support the candidate they believe best serves the autonomy, democracy and progress of Portugal," emphasise the centrist councillors from the island.
However, the leader of the Madeiran centrists, the former speaker of the regional parliament of Madeira and current regional secretary for the economy, José Manuel Rodrigues, has already publicly announced his support for António José Seguro's candidacy.
In the document, the CDS-PP/Madeira councillors also point out that they hope that the two candidates who have made it to the second round of the election - António José Seguro and André Ventura - "be clear and unequivocal in their positions on autonomy, on the issue of flight subsidies for the people of Madeira and Porto Santo, on compliance with the principle of territorial continuity and on the State's delayed investments in the Region".
António José Seguro and André Ventura will contest the second round of the presidential elections on 8 February, after the PS-backed candidate won 31% of the vote last Sunday and Ventura, leader of Chega, won 23%.
AMB/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
